Soft‐system knowledge management framework for new product development

Purpose – In today's knowledge economy, a major challenge for the managers is to effectively link the knowledge management (KM) initiatives with the ever‐changing organizational needs. The problem arises due to disjoint strategic alignment between these two, which is mainly due to inappropriate KM framework and adoption of some quick‐fix solutions to achieve business results. Hence, for effective management and utilization of knowledge assets, KM initiative should be dovetailed to link with key organizational goals like new product development (NPD), customer satisfaction and manufacturing excellence. The purpose of this paper is to propose a suitable KM system. Design/methodology/approach – This paper proposes an approach for KM system development to ensure a fit between the organizational needs during NPD and KM initiatives. Soft system methodology (SSM) has been adopted to design this framework. Findings – This research identified a list of knowledge‐sharing methods, which help in intra‐level or inter‐level knowledge flow. The proposed framework highlights the hierarchal nature and bi‐directional flow of knowledge. Further, this work observed that there are two additional key enablers to effective knowledge management system – competency and infrastructure. Research limitations/implications – This work focuses on an auto‐component supplier in India. Therefore, this work is limited by the organizational culture, location, business model and the sector in which this research was done. Originality/value – This paper suggests that a technical knowledge driven process like NPD has three strategic enablers – technology, people and process. The sustenance of the NPD process is affected by the balance among these enablers. Fundamentally, a comprehensive and integrative framework not only ensures a structured framework but also helps in better adoption due to stakeholders' buy‐in of the process.