4.4.1 Individual knowledge in product development

In the product development project, the team therefore is relying on its tacit knowledge augmented with explicit knowledge to provide the required knowledge for the project. Sometimes the project starts with only the tacit knowledge of the team members and further knowledge is generated in the project. This often happens in the small company which lacks information sources, but the larger companies can also do this if there is a perceived need for a fast start to development. Under these circumstances, product success is very dependent on the tacit knowledge and the creative ability of individuals.

Product development is dependent on the dynamics of people and their networks. The individual in product development has knowledge developed from education and experience, but they are also involved in knowledge networks that may be in professional organisations, industry groups, company staff, customers and suppliers. So the individual is dynamically exchanging knowledge while also building up their own knowledge base. Very often, the relevant knowledge for the product development project is general knowledge in this particular group or even in a wider society (Senker, 1998), and only the 10-20% created is really new knowledge. Companies who have great secrecy barriers are sometimes losing this general knowledge and are making knowledge creation more difficult for themselves.

Very often there are individuals in companies who because of their strong connections with external sources are able to gather information that is both relevant and up to date. They may be thought of as information gatekeepers. With their understanding of internal needs and communication systems, they can translate this information into a form that is useful to the organisation (MacDonald and William, 1993). These information gatekeepers can be very useful in product development. Information gatekeepers can also be important within the company, transferring information between groups and translating the information into knowledge for the project.

It is important that the company supports creative individuals, and also provides them with the environment to create knowledge. Creative people are not always the easiest to manage in the traditional power-down method and organisational structure. In some cultures such as in Scandinavia, they are given an important status and given the resources to work together. Scandinavians often wonder why, in American and Canadian research to improve product development, communication is identified as difficult to achieve; they communicate all the time!

Every person in the company can contribute tacit knowledge to product development. Product development is re-creating the company, in a small way or even dramatically, therefore all staff are involved, as also are the customers. It is important in recruiting not to have closed minds, for example recruiting only from certain universities; the company will have too many people with the same way of thinking and not be able to create and tap the necessary new knowledge. A variety of knowledge, skills and motivations are required. And it needs to be combined with experience. There is a need to have a combination of people who have built up their experience in the company and others who have outside experience in the food industry or even in another industry. People with tacit knowledge from other companies will bring new tacit knowledge into the company, which can revitalise the tacit knowledge in the company.