Role of Knowledge in Management of Innovation

Knowledge has always been, and still is, a crucial source of economy. However, during the past few years we have seen a growing interest in treating knowledge as a significant organizational resource for innovation. This trend coincides with the rapid development of ICT, indicating the strong influence that ICTs have on the processes of creating, disseminating, and using knowledge. At present, issues of innovation management and knowledge management are studied independently, which creates a certain gap in the systemic understanding of the innovation development processes. The paper proposes an integrated approach to the issues mentioned. The hierarchy and taxonomy of knowledge are considered from the point of view of their influence on decision-making at different stages of the innovation lifecycle. Our proposition complements and contributes to several recent models of decision-making developed in the frame of the innovation process.