A Knowledge-based Approach to Innovation: an Application for Project-based Firms

The knowledge-based view (KBV) of firms has received increasingly attention. A relatively unexplored area is knowledge transfer in project-based organizations (PBOs). The PBO relies upon combining expertise from several internal and external parties in order to deliver their own capabilities in a one-off process. Knowledge over projects is difficult to transfer due to the unique character of projects. Furthermore, the short-term perspective and fluctuating partners make it harder to develop new knowledge in cooperation with parties in the network. The network consists of suppliers, clients, governmental institutions and R&D institutions. This paper aims at developing a conceptual framework for research on the relationship between the PBO and its network. We discuss knowledge properties for innovation of the network, trust-based relationships and the impact of the industrial context on knowledge transfer and we present illustrations from the construction industry.