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Article
| Academy of Management Journal
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April 2007
Knowledge-based Innovation: Emergence and Embedding of New Practice Areas in Management Consulting Firms
by
N. Anand, H. K. Gardner and T. Morris
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Abstract
How do innovative knowledge-based structures emerge and become embedded in organizations? We drew on theories of knowledge-intensive firms, communities of practice, and professional service firms to analyze multiple cases of new practice area creation in management consulting firms. Our qualitative analysis identified four critical generative elements: socialized agency, differentiated expertise, defensible turf, and organizational support. We demonstrate that these elements must be combined in specific pathways for knowledge-based innovative structures to emerge and embed. These pathways emerge from practitioner networks, markets for knowledge-based services, and professional firms' hierarchies. Our findings have important implications for studying innovation in the knowledge-based economy.
Keywords: Knowledge;
Innovation and Invention;
Management Practices and Processes;
Organizational Structure;
Economy;
Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques;
Experience and Expertise;
Service Operations;
Consulting Industry;