Managing Knowledge to Enhance the Performance of the Grassroots Technological Innovation for Thai SMEs

It is widely recognized that SMEs play significant role in driving the country’s economy. Thai SMEs as well are heart of the Thailand’s economy. Numbers of Thai technological SMEs applies knowledge management (KM) to enhance their innovation capability. This qualitative research, applying a case study method, aims to investigate the practices of knowledge management towards the grassroots innovation of Thai technological SMEs. The research found that the successful Thai SMEs integrated both internal knowledge, namely technical knowledge, and the external knowledge related to the markets, and the needs of their target customers in inventing product or service innovation. Knowledge management facilitates the Thai entrepreneurs to create and select the right choice for innovation. Knowledge creation and integration help increasing the efficiency of the design and innovation management process. In addition, collaborations from their business alliances help promoting their innovations to the markets. Accordingly, knowledge management indeed supports the efficient innovation management process to Thai SMEs.