Knowledge management and intellectual property rights nexus: Investigating role of KM in socio economic development in Zimbabwe

Lazarus Sauti

Abstract

Knowledge Management and Intellectual Property play a central role in socio-economic development of any country. This is so because they are connected, and knowledge as an intellectual capital is critical in innovation systems which are the basis for socio-economic transformations. Accordingly, this paper will explore knowledge management and intellectual property, their connection and their potential in stimulating economic development in Zimbabwe.

Key terms: Knowledge; Knowledge Management; Intellectual Property; Socio-economic development.

Background

There is a definite connection between knowledge management and Intellectual Property. This is so because company employees are the creative force that generates the knowledge that can be mined for possible Intellectual Property. This also means knowledge management and intellectual property are two crucial ingridients in the development matrix of any country. To fully explore the respective roles of knowledge and intellectual property management in development, the following issues will be discussed:

§  The conceptual overview of knowledge, knowledge management and intellectual property.

§  Knowledge management and Intellectual Property components

§  Knowledge management as a development tool

§  Intellectual property as a game changer

Conceptual overview of Knowledge, Knowledge Management and Intellectual Property

Knowledge

Knowledge, the expertise and skills acquired by a person through education; the practical understanding of a subject, is the only meaningful resource today (Peter Drucker, 1993). Knowledge is one of the most important assets for an organisation to create values and hence, sustainable competitive advantage[1]. Knowledge is generally categorised as tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge refers to knowledge stored in the heads of people. This knowledge can only be transmitted via training or gained through personal experience, and includes people beliefs, values and expectations. Knowing how to network at a conference is an example. Explicit knowledge is knowledge that can be articulated, codified and stored in certain media. It can be readily transmitted to others. Manuals, documents, procedures, websites and emails are examples.

Knowledge Management

Knowledge management is the art of creating value from an organisation’s intangible assets[2]. Prusak (1996:6) said: “The only thing that gives an organisation a competitive edge…is what it knows, how it uses what it knows, and how fast it can know something new.” In other words, how it applies knowledge management. From Sveiby and Prusak’s definitions, it is easy to note that knowledge management comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, share, distribute, store, locate and enable adoption of insights and experiences, such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.

In other words, knowledge management is conducted through locating knowledge: identifying the relevant information, knowledge and expertise available; capturing knowledge: gathering the existing and potential sources of information and knowledge; creating knowledge: creating knowledge through learning and innovation; sharing knowledge: disseminating knowledge with other parties; applying knowledge: using available information and knowledge; and storing knowledge: using knowledge repositories to store and make information and knowledge available.

Consequently, knowledge management gets the right knowledge to the right people at the right time so they can work more efficiently and effectively[3].

Intellectual Property

According to Ben White, British journalist, writer and researcher, intellectual property plays an important role in the distribution of knowledge. It refers to the commercial application of innovation and creativity to improving and enriching our lives – at both the practical and cultural levels. It is also the property generated in the process of intellectual activities. Similar to tangible property (for example, house and car), intellectual property which is an intangible property is protected by the law, and it is strongly related to our daily lives, such as articles in newspapers or magazines, television or radio programmes, brand-names or logos (trademarks).

Basic tenets of knowledge management

People, processes, and technology are the three essential components of knowledge management. People are primary because they implement knowledge management processes as part of their work and help shape a knowledge-sharing culture[4]. While technology can enable and expedite knowledge management, it has to be integrated with the way people work, address their real needs, and be appropriate to the setting.

Major components of intellectual property

The major components of intellectual property include copyrights, patents and trademarks. Copyright refers to the creator’s right to possess, use, and generate benefits from his/her pieces (www.wipo.int). Any pieces which are the product of human creativity are protected by copyright, for example literary works, artistic works, movies, musical works, dramatic works, computer software, architecture and photography. According to Bouchoux (2008), a patent is a component of intellectual property that gives exclusive right to the owner of an invention to exploit the invention for a limited period. A trademark is a sign that is used to distinguish the goods or services of a company from those of others (Gene Quinn, IPWatchdog). The sign of a trademark can be words, characters, numbers, figurative elements, combinations of different colours.

Knowledge management as a tonic for development

Without doubt, knowledge can act as the driver of competitiveness and productivity, as a facilitator of welfare and environment, and as an enabler of institutions and governance, hence contributing to economic and social development[5].

Knowledge as the driver of competitiveness and productivity: an econometric study conducted by the World Bank concluded that close to two thirds of the differences between the GDP of two countries (Ghana and the Republic of Korea), over a half century, were explained not much by accumulation of physical, capital and labour but by other sources of growth and productivity in which knowledge was crucial.

Knowledge as the facilitator of welfare and environment: knowledge improves nutrition, cures epidemics and protects against natural dangers.

Knowledge as the enabler of institutions and governance: Knowledge is crucial in the policy decision making process. It can be transformed into effective decisions and actions to solve development problems both in the short and long term.

David Skyrme, a world recognised knowledge management consultant believes:  “Knowledge management is fundamental to future success in a knowledge-intensive workplace. Properly executed, it can bring significant benefits for organisations. It can increase productivity through better knowledge sharing, provide better client service by providing rapid access to information, and can help solve intractable problems by connecting together the relevant experts.”

Intellectual Property as a game changer

According to Kamil Idris, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, intellectual property is a ‘power tool’ for economic development and wealth creation. It is a practical guide to using intangible assets such as knowledge, information, creativity and inventiveness that are rapidly replacing traditional and tangible assets such as land, labour and capital as the driving forces of economic health and social well-being. Accordingly, intellectual property is an economic game changer because it is empowering; it supports and rewards creators and innovators, stimulates economic growth, and promotes human resource development. More so, it is a resource that is available to all peoples.

Intellectual property has an important role in economy. It is the primary resource for value creation, and a crucial contributor to economic growth and competitiveness, especially in fields of technology (Seville, 2009).

Knowledge management and intellectual property nexus: role of libraries

For any country to effectively benefit from its resources, organisations must give equal attention to adding contextual information to databases and improve tacit knowledge exchange[6]. And as custodians of information and knowledge, library and information centres should not only provide good cores for developing knowledge centres, but must broaden their scope to include several forms of knowledge. This means knowledge sharing must become an ingrained behaviour for all professionals. This requires personal development, leadership and changes in the way that managers treat individuals.

In a world without libraries, it would be difficult to advance research and human knowledge or preserve the world’s cumulative knowledge and heritage for future generations…Libraries are keenly aware of the need to maintain the balance between protecting the rights of authors and safeguarding the wider public interest, and they play an essential role in enabling the delivery of library services to the public and in achieving the copyright system’s goals of encouraging creativity and learning (Ben White, British journalist, writer and researcher).

Conclusion
From the paper, the writer deduced that the relationship between knowledge management and intellectual capital is of vital importance to organisational effectiveness. The writer also noted that knowledge management and intellectual property play a central role in socio-economic development of any country. Thus, organisations must connect knowledge management and intellectual property to create a powerful business and transform the country’s economy.

Recommendations

• Intellectual property rights needed to be subsumed under knowledge management as a particular class of intangible asset.
• Organisations should implement measures to protect, safeguard and market the intellectual property produced by staff.
• More so, organisations should extract ideas from key employees, through invention scanning, to ensure that knowledge is not only inventoried, but also assessed for potential protection through intellectual property.
• Orgnisations must design intellectual asset management processes that include trade secret protection measures, so that valued knowledge remains in the company, even when employees leave the company.
• Institutions must educater employees and managers about the leverage to be gained from intellectual property.
• Knowledge management practitioners (librarians, information officer, planning officers etc) must facilitate an intellectual property strategy to help align the business with the intellectual property that is, or could be, developed.

 References

1. Asmal, K.(2000). “The Knowledge Economy – Fact or Fiction.” [online]
2. Koulopoulos, T. (1997). “Creating a knowing enterprise: the evolution of knowledge management. [online]
3. Maximising Access and Quality (2004). “Managing Knowledge to improve Reproductive Health Programs”, Paper No. 5. [online]
4. Newman, B. (1996). “What is knowledge management?” [online]
5. Nonaka, I. (2006). Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage through Knowledge Based Management. Berkeley: Hitotsubashi University.
6. Prusak, L. (1996). “The knowledge advantage”,  Strategy and Leadership, Vol. 24, March-April, pp. 6-8.
7. Seville, C. (2009). European Union Intellectual Property Law and Policy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
8. Skyrme, D. K. (1999). Knowledge Management: Making It Work. [online]
9. Sveiby, K-E. (2004). “Intellectual capital and knowledge management.” [online]
10. World Bank Institute Development Studies (2007). Building Knowledge Economies: Advanced Strategies for Development. [online]

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[1] Nonaka, I. (2006). Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage through Knowledge-Based Management. Berkely: Hitotsubashi University.

[2] Sveiby, K. E. (2004). “Intellectual capital and knowledge management.” [online] 

[3] Maximising Access and Quality. (2004). “Managing knowledge to Improve Reproductive Health Programs”, Paper No. 5.

[4] Maximising Access and Quality. (2004). “Managing knowledge to Improve Reproductive Health Programs”, Paper No. 5.

[5] World Bank Institute Development Studies (2004). Building Knowledge Economies: Advanced Strategies for Development. Washington.

[6] Skyrme, D. K. (1999). Knowledge Management: Making It Work. [online]