The chart below shows the evolution over the other four generations.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |
| Technology as the Asset |
Project as the Asset |
Enterprise as the Asset |
Customer as the Asset |
Knowledge as the Asset |
|
| Core Strategy | R&D in Isolation | Link to Business | Technology/Business Integration | Integration With Customer R&D | Collaborative Innovation System |
| Change Factors | Unpredictable Serendipity | Inter-dependence | Systematic R&D Management | Accelerated Discontinuous Global Change | Kaleidoscopic Dynamics |
| Performance | R&D as Overhead | Cost-Sharing | Balancing Risk/Reward | 'Productivity Paradox' | Intellectual Capacity/Impact |
| Structure | Hierarchical; Functionally Driven |
Matrix | Distributed Coordination | 'Multi Dimensional' Communities of Practice | Symbiotic Networks |
| People | We/They Competition | Proactive Cooperation | Structured Collaboration | Focus on Values and Capacity | Self Managing Knowledge Workers |
| Process | Minimal Communication | Project to Project Basis | Purposeful R&D/Portfolio | Feedback Loops and 'information persistence' | Cross-Boundary Learning and Knowledge Flow |
| Technology | Embryonic | Data-Based | Information-Based | IT as a Competitive Weapon | Intelligent Knowledge Processors |
Map Your Own Organisation
In
our consultancy work, we find that management teams find it useful and instructive to map
where their own organisation is on each of the dimensions. A suggested approach is as
follows:
a. the current practice
b. the desirable end-point, taking account of your industry and markets
It is this discussion that encourages tacit knowledge sharing and gives each participant new insights into their own management practice. You might then like to compare your results here, with that of the more specific Litmus Test, designed to gauge your organisation against the knowledge innovation leaders.
