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>> INTRODUCTION
Throughout this book we have emphasized the idea that the processes used to
manage knowledge work need to be customized for particular purposes in par-
ticular contexts. As we saw in Chapter 1, this is because managing knowledge
only adds value when knowledge is applied to changes in practice (McDermott,
1999). This chapter focuses more closely on a major purpose of knowledge
work – innovation. In this chapter we see how the changing nature of innova-
tion itself is posing more and more challenges for managing knowledge work.
This chapter – and many of the case studies in previous chapters – show
that innovation is more often than not a complex, uncertain, torturous and
highly political activity, with numerous twists and turns along the way. It is
difficult to know at the outset quite what will be achieved when knowledge is
combined in new ways and getting people to ‘buy into’ the innovation process
can be as much of a challenge as ‘sourcing’ the knowledge required. The out-
comes of innovation are, therefore, not just unknown, but also unknowable in
advance (Dougherty, 2007). Therefore, while it is easy to talk about managing
knowledge to achieve innovation, it is less easy to do in practice. The major
objective of this chapter, then, is to deepen understanding of what innovation
entails and the implications this has for managing knowledge work.
Throughout this chapter, three critical features of innovation are
highlighted:

1. Its dynamic, processual, practice-based nature.
2. Its implications for managing knowledge and practice.
3. Its relationship to context (social, organizational and national/institutional).

Students who have the opportunity to work in syndicate groups will also be able
to engage in a role-play, designed to simulate a small part of an innovation process.
This focuses on technological innovation – a task that typically involves changing
peoples’ practices as well as developing technical systems, and, therefore, one
that poses major challenges for managing knowledge work (Clark, 2003), as seen
in Chapter 3. A more forensic examination of the different dimensions of the
innovation process and the ways in which knowledge might be managed more
effectively is possible through the role-play. For students that cannot engage in the
role-play, we present, in the first section, a case description – the case of Medico –
that can be used to ground understanding of the topics in this chapter.
The scrutiny of innovation in this chapter reinforces the message that a single
(in the universalistic sense) ‘best practice’ approach to managing knowledge
work is highly problematic. Whilst writers have attempted to identify ‘best’
Knowledge Management practices for innovation – Coombs and Hull (1998),
for example, provided a comprehensive list of some 80 ‘Knowledge Management
Practices’ for achieving innovation in R&D departments – these must be applied
with extreme care as what is best for one organization may be worst for another
(Hendriks, 2003). The chapter therefore provides a further challenge to the

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