Title: The roles of external knowledge in organisational learning and development

Authors: Kongkiti Phusavat, Sitthinath Sanpanich, Pekka Kess, Matti Muhos

Addresses: Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. ' Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. ' University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, 90014, Oulu, Finland. ' University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, 90014, Oulu, Finland

Abstract: The study addresses the importance of external knowledge for organisational learning and development. This study focuses on Thailand Productivity Institute (TPI), a not-for-profit organisation under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry. TPI is considered to be a successful organisation that has made a great deal of positive impacts on productivity, quality research and public awareness. The study|s purpose is to illustrate the essential knowledge that is transferred from external sources throughout TPI|s life cycle stages. The study shows that, when classifying external knowledge into technical (to be transferred to entrepreneurs, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and companies), operational (part of TPI|s public relations and social marketing) and administrative (for internal management), the level of emphasis is different throughout the life cycle|s four stages. This study has many potential benefits, including providing an understanding of designing and establishing a public or nonprofit unit that performs tasks similar to TPI at the provincial level.

Keywords: external knowledge; organisational learning; organisational life cycles; knowledge sharing; knowledge transfer; Thailand Productivity Institute; organisational development; productivity; quality research; public awareness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2009.025064

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2009 Vol.6 No.5, pp.537 - 549

Published online: 11 May 2009 *

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