Design Thinking

Chapter 13Knowledge Management as Intelligence Amplification for Breakthrough Innovations

Vadake K. Narayanan

Drexel University

Gina Colarelli O'Connor

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Introduction

Design thinking has emerged as the next frontier in the competitive landscape of many industries and firms. Design thinking has been defined as combining empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions, and rationality in analyzing and fitting various solutions to the problem context (Kelley & Kelley, 2013). Its principles and practices are directed toward intractable human issues, so-called wicked problems for which an optimal solution or even a knowable solution may not exist (Buchanan, 1992). It is a method of creative action and experimentation, focused on solving complex problems.

How to best handle knowledge for large intractable problems for which optimal solutions are not knowable is a tantalizing arena for purveyors of knowledge management experts to explore. Typically, organizations structure their knowledge management systems to cumulate knowledge, experience, and expertise in certain market and technology domains, and leverage that knowledge repeatedly to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness, thereby outpacing competitors and maximizing profitability for their shareholders. Partly as a consequence, knowledge management (KM) approaches have mostly been applied to these routine facets of an organization's operations, including ...