Knowledge Management for Innovation in Design: Modelling knowledge dynamics for the innovation in engineering design process

In the era of knowledge economy, the pressures from the globalization, hyper-competition and sustainable development propel companies to innovate. Meanwhile, it is widely recognized that knowledge is the only sustainable resource for innovation and the competitive advantage of companies. Consequently, how to turn the available knowledge into profitable innovations has become the key research problem of this study. In order to understand the phenomenon of innovation and knowledge, multidisciplinary fields such as knowledge and its management, innovation, design and artificial intelligence have been investigated. Based on our analyses and argumentations, an integrated approach of knowledge management for innovation has been proposed by integrating the meta-model and macro process of knowledge management with the networking process of innovation and design. Based on the integrated approach, a software prototype has been built with Java and presented with an industrial case study. The book should help shed some light on the knowledge dynamics for innovation in design and be useful to professionals and students in the fields of knowledge management and innovation in design.