A new approach to the concept of knowledge strategy

Purpose: This paper presents a novel way to conceive knowledge strategy (KS). It suggests that a firm could outperform another by establishing a coherent and integrated KS depending on the objectives pursued and the understanding of knowledge management (KM) by managers, the use of KM tools, and organizational aspects to support KS implementation.

Design/methodology/approach: A cluster analysis was used to study the effect of KS on business performance and innovation based on a cross-sectional sample of Spanish firms. Additional statistical analyses were used in order to develop a taxonomy of KSs.

Findings: The paper shows that the way an organization approaches knowledge management has major implications on the development of their strategy and the outcomes of KS application. Four types of KS are thus described based on the empirical analysis, i.e. proactive, moderate, passive and inconsistent, each of them having different effects on business performance and innovation.

Research limitations/implications: The research was limited to high rate innovation industries. Future studies could include other industries and a more diverse sample of firms.

Practical implications: The conception of KS presented here is a powerful approach that can lead an organization to achieve further innovation and higher levels of business performance.

Originality/value: An integrated and coherent KS has the potential to produce optimal results in terms of technological innovation and business performance.