Boundaries innovation through knowledge convergence-developing triad strategic communities

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the process of implementing a micro innovation strategy for the development of the company’s mainstay business at present (incremental innovation) and a future growth strategy (radical innovation) in an age when there are dramatic changes in the environment and the future is hard to predict from the perspective of boundaries innovation that the company should implement based on the creation of boundaries knowledge and convergence knowledge. To implement knowledge convergence processes, outstanding companies dynamically establish various project teams and diverse mixed teams, which are strategic communities, as well as network organisations that integrate these teams and continually generate new boundaries innovation. The paper presents a theoretical framework, a detailed case study, and new insights regarding combination of exploration and exploitation through triadic strategic community formations for boundaries innovation strategies where dynamic strategic communities that overcome and transcend various boundaries create boundaries knowledge from various different types of knowledge and dynamically converge these different types of knowledge to create new convergence knowledge (such as the development of new products and services and the development of new business models, etc.).

KEYWORDS:

• Knowledge convergence
• strategic communities
• boundaries innovation
• exploration
• exploitation

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for the guidance and support I have received in writing this paper. Firstly, I would like to thank all the practitioners who gave their time in discussions. I also would like to extend my gratitude to NTT DOCOMO, Corporate Advisor and Member of the Board of Directors Kaoru Kato, President and CEO Kazuhiro Yoshizawa, Senior Executive Vice President Hiroyasu Asami, and Executive Vice President Kiyohiro Omatsuzawa for the several support I received for this research. I would also like to express my gratitude for Nihon University’s College of Commerce. Lastly, I would like to express my deepest thanks to Professor Dr James Fleck, and two anonymous reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Mitsuru Kodama is Professor of Innovation and Technology Management in the College of Commerce and Graduate School of Business Administration at Nihon University. His research has been published in international journals such as Long Range Planning, Organization Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Technovation, R&D Management and Information Systems Management, among others. He has also published 12 books in English such as Developing Holistic Leadership (Emerald, 2017), Collaborative Innovation (Routledge, 2015), Competing through ICT Capability (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), Boundary Management (Springer, 2009), Knowledge Innovation (Edward Elgar, 2007), among others.