An Analysis and Application of Knowledge Management Practices in Multinational R&D Activity

Both business and academic communities believes that by leveraging knowledge and managing it strategically can sustain an organisation in its long-term competitive advantages (Nonaka, 1991). Scholars and observers from various disciplines agree that knowledge is at center stage of organizational competitiveness. This means that knowledge is information combined with experiences, circumstances, understanding, and manifestation that is ready to apply to decisions and actions. Using a case study and interview method, this research aims to explore what knowledge management and practices are and how to create, transfer and use it more effectively in MNO in the R&D sector. The research found that perception and understanding of the organisation's tacit and explicit knowledge were key to the competitiveness of the company. The importance of this research lies in the heart of it revealing and explaining that not only does the environment receive explicit knowledge created by the organisation such as technologies, products or services, etc; but how tacit knowledge is to be brought into a new cycle of organisational knowledge creation and how it is applied and transferred.