ABSTRACT
Knowledge of course lies at the heart of innovation; indeed, innovation is the process of applying new forms of knowledge. This poses the question of what we understand by knowledge. One response is that knowledge is what is gained through experience or study that enables a person to perform a specific task (Awad and Ghaziri 2004). It is more than information, which is essentially about meaningful data, because it involves elements of interpretation (Wiig 1993). As Chang and Chen (2004: 24) explain:
Knowledge is different from information. Information relates to data, while knowledge involves a wider process that involves cognitive structures that assimilate information and put it into a broader context, thereby allowing actions to be undertaken on that basis. Information exists independently of the receiver and transmitter. Knowledge is information that has been translated so that humans understand it. Knowledge cannot be said to ‘flow’ but can be said to be ‘shared’ or ‘transferred’.
