The following Table 3 is an indication of how well the KBV-Assumptions could be supported by my selected case studies.
# Main Assumptions
1 Knowledge is considered to be the most strategically important resource of the firm
2 Differentiation between explicit and tacit knowledge, with tacit knowledge being essential to achieve sustainable competitive advantage
3 Tacit knowledge is acquired and stored in a ‘highly specialised form’ within individuals
4 Production needs a wide range of knowledge # Subsequent Assumption
1 Economies of scale for knowledge: All knowledge has higher creation costs then subsequent replication.
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4.1.2 - Case Study Overview
The following sections will introduce each KTP case study to inform the context in which it was operating. The name of the company is coded with a specific case name to strengthen transferability and comparability within different sections of the analysis. All three case studies discussed in this section are between 2-3 years in duration and aim to fill a knowledge gap of the firm. The identified knowledge gap is of strategic importance to the company and seen as instrumental to increase competitive positioning by the company, the university, and the funding provider. Furthermore, there may be some reference within the analysis to an additional case study. The shorter-KTP, which was six months in duration, undertook a more operational perspective which did not lead to an SCA as such but was used to survive and compete and may be classified as a strategic catch-up. The shorter-KTP was used as a pilot study to see if the individual KBV-themes and the chosen methodology would bring ‘usable’ qualitative data. The shorter-KTP pilot case study is attached in Appendix C for completion purposes.
4.1.2.1 - Case Study - Crystal
This two-year KTP was set up between a University in the South of the UK, as the knowledge-base, and an SME called Crystal as the company. Crystal is a spinout company from the University with intellectual property (IP) that was generated from the University. Crystal was set up in 2009, and the KTP was running from 2012-2014.
The project was set up to transfer manufacturing knowledge from the university into the company with the view towards getting Crystal into the laser projection market. The university patent covered the ability to use a crystal that is used for a cheap invisible laser and convert it into a green laser. Green lasers are rare and cannot be readily brought and are much more expensive. Crystal manufactures a crystal for converting the colour of lasers. The main challenge for the KTP was to convert a lab- based technique into a mainstream process for commercial purposes (Crystal Academic Leader).
149 | P a g e This KTP is unusual as the academic leader (AL) was also undertaking the role of a company supervisor (CS). This is partly due to the fact that the company is a spin-off of the university and the leading academic was responsible for the lab success in the first place. The KTP was also classified as very knowledge-intensive and the associate, only staying for 1.5 years and then headhunted into another firm, was already a post doc at the time.
Based on the literature review, this case study should have struggled as the main tacit knowledge generator left the company. However, this KTP is an exception in the sense that the AL at this point also acted as the associate for the KTP to finish the delivery since the original, lab-based success was already led by the AL.
This case study company can convert a cheaper crystal, producing an invisible laser, into a green laser which is considerably harder to achieve. There are only a handful of companies in the world that can produce a similar crystal and out of those only two delivering to the scientific market. There is Crystal in the UK and a company in Taiwan. Crystal operates in a niche market and supplies to 100s of research institutes, universities and companies worldwide. Out of the 5 companies in the world who could convert the crystal, two of them serve the scientific market (including Crystal) the others mainly use it internally or for small batches for development contracts.
“We just wanted to know how to make the crystals. The technology was a bit of a black art to start with… the process wasn’t really refined. It was a lab based process. Whereas now, it’s a standardized, turn the handle and generate crystals kind of process” (Crystal AL 2016)
From the outset, it seems that the KTP gave Crystal the time and focus to turn a very tacit, lab-based approach of manufacturing into a more standardised explicit manufacturing process that gave Crystal the quality and quantity needed to make it commercial (Crystal CS Transcript 2016). However, the knowledge transfer process will be discussed in more detail below.
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4.1.2.2 - Case Study - Simulation
This two-year case study developed a dental implant simulation to overcome particular shortcomings in dental implants, specifically, the metal component that fits into a jawbone on which a standard crown is mounted. However, the screw is not an accurate representation of anatomy that is replaced, which has several problems including the danger of infection.
The statistical development, understanding sizing, suitable shapes, and the biomechanical influences, were all part of this KTP. The simulation was developed specifically for the company to come up with a new innovative solution in dental implants. Rather than single patient analysis, this company build models from the whole population of patient scan or patient anatomy to build a series of bell curves to analyse designs across populations. This will help the surgery not to have so many gaps to fill, and the surgeon could potentially start right away, but the technical details are still confidential.
A very complex workflow was created, from scratch, to create a simulation that also uses fairly abstract mathematical techniques to give physical meaning. This also shows an anatomy variation of size in ways not previously represented (analysis of shape anatomy). The end goal was to have a minimal number of different shapes which can be used of the shelf. The common practice is to tailor every single implant, mostly, from scratch. A limited size range will reduce the inventory of standard implant systems and make the whole process much more efficient.
Before the KTP, the company concentrated only on hips and knee implants where most of the expertise was channelled. This KTP has allowed the company to develop expertise for application into a new and lucrative market segment which is the dental implantology. The tool/simulation is ground-breaking in the field and can also be used to come up with other innovations:
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“And to analyse those implants, so that’s where you using the statistical understanding of the bone of the implant, it will be implanted into. I think it’s hard to say for sure, but I’m not aware of any other companies that doing that level of research, and it’s tremendously important as well because, if you are analysing new design you want to demonstrate its safety prior to clinical use or trial” (Simulation Academic Leader Transcript)