Digital Technologies for Managing Innovation of Knowledge Work: The Case of a Chinese SME

Abstract

The paper examines the perceptions of knowledge workers of small-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Chinese context in regards to managing innovation in their knowledge work with the support of digital technologies. Main concepts such as knowledge, knowledge work, knowledge workers, innovation in knowledge work and digital technologies along with Socialization, Externalization, Combination and Internalization (SECI) model form the theoretical framework of this research which is used to discuss the research findings.
The research adopts the interpretive qualitative approach and collects data through semi-structured face-to-face individual and group interviews. The collected empirical material that is analyzed thematically, yields eight themes which show that knowledge workers’ active interaction with knowledge supports the conversion from tacit to explicit knowledge back and forth. This assists the creation of new knowledge and, therefore, innovation in knowledge work; digital technologies play a supportive role in managing innovation in SME knowledge workers’ daily work.
This research contributes to the current body of knowledge within informatics by empowering knowledge workers to share their viewpoints in regards to managing innovation in their knowledge work with the support of digital technologies. It also deepens the understanding of the formation mechanism of innovation in knowledge work. Finally, the research enriches and extends the existing body of knowledge and provides some valuable insights for the use of digital technologies in knowledge work to promote innovation.