The interrelation between innovations and knowledge management systems: Justification and classification of knowledge-based innovations

This article exexamines the role of knowledge in the innovation process, highlighting knowledge creation as a key factor in successful innovation. Current economic realities underscore the importance of knowledge as a fundamental resource for creating unique competitive advantage. The relationship between innovation and the knowledge creation process, which is often overlooked or underestimated, is explored. The article presents different approaches to defining and classifying innovation and knowledge creation models. The authors propose a classification approach for knowledge-based innovations based on parameters such as the type of knowledge according to novelty level (completely new knowledge vs. use of existing knowledge), knowledge creation (market knowledge vs. empirical knowledge), and knowledge characteristics (explicit vs. implicit). Empirical research on knowledge-based innovation has allowed us to complement the classification approach with information on the source of knowledge acquisition for innovation creation - a critical feature for company managers. The conclusion underlines the importance of knowledge creation and integration for the successful implementation of innovation.