Title: The effect of institutional pressures on knowledge management and the resulting innovation: the case of the smartcard in France

Authors: Remy Magnier-Watanabe, Dai Senoo

Addresses: Graduate School of Business Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan. ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Graduate School of Decision Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract: As governments attempt to stimulate the economy, solving the issue of disconnect between institutional systems legitimised in routine on the one hand and innovation striving on change on the other hand, promises to lead to a newfound virtuous cycle of growth. Knowledge Management (KM), as enabler of change using its knowledge creation capability, is subject to different forces that shape its processes and eventually the resulting innovation. A qualitative analysis based on data gathered from the case study of the first major rollout of smartcard technology in France shows how institutional isomorphic pressures affect not only the Management Of Technology (MOT) but also the KM processes applied in the creation and maintenance of the resulting innovation. The government impetus, legal authorities and cultural expectations in the French society produced coercive isomorphic pressures onto the credit card industry, while existing credit card solutions, systems and standards played the role of mimetic isomorphic pressures and professional networks and network effects functioned as normative isomorphic pressures. Also, it is shown that a systems perspective of institutional isomorphic pressures can provide a better understanding of interdependence mechanisms.

Keywords: institutions; institutional pressures; innovation; isomorphism; KM; knowledge management; smartcard technology; France; knowledge creation; technology management; credit card industry; interdependence.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIE.2009.024410

International Journal of Intelligent Enterprise, 2009 Vol.1 No.2, pp.177 - 197

Published online: 02 Apr 2009 *

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