Guidelines and strategies grounded in knowledge management for innovation in the public sector
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15675/gepros.3059Keywords:
Knowledge management, Innovation, Forensic police, Forensic sciences, Public serviceAbstract
Objective: This study aims to propose strategic guidelines to foster systematic innovation in public institutions. It seeks to address how public organizations can overcome barriers to continuous innovation and enhance service delivery and societal value. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research employs an integrative literature review on Knowledge Management (KM), Organizational Learning (OL), and public sector innovation to identify institutional barriers to innovation and propose guidelines and strategies to mitigate them. Empirical evidence was gathered from institutional surveys and focus groups with employees in a Brazilian forensic institution, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities for innovation in this context. Findings: The analysis reveals key obstacles to innovation, including administrative constraints and the pressure to process large case volumes. The study proposes strategies centered on strategic leadership, continuous learning, knowledge sharing, external collaboration, and effective information technology (IT) use to foster innovation and ensure organizational adaptability. Research Limitations: The findings are based on a single case study, which may limit generalizability to other public institutions. Further research across different contexts is needed to validate and expand the proposed guidelines. Practical Implications: The proposed strategies offer actionable pathways for public institutions, particularly in forensic sciences, to enhance innovation capacity, improve operational efficiency, and increase societal value. Originality/Value: By integrating theoretical insights on KM and OL with empirical data from a public sector case study, this research provides a comprehensive framework for overcoming innovation barriers in public institutions, contributing both to academic literature and practical policy design.
References
Alosani, M. S., Yusoff, R. and Al-Dhaafri, H. (2020). The effect of innovation and strategic planning on enhancing organizational performance of Dubai Police. Innovation and Management Review, 17, pp. 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/INMR-06-2018-0039 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/INMR-06-2018-0039
Amusan, L. and Oyekunle, O. A. (2016). Conceptualizing innovation management development through organizational learning in the public service: any lessons for developing states? Problems and Perspectives in Management, 14, pp. 266–275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.14(3-1).2016.13
Arundel, A., Bloch, C., Ferguson, B. (2019). Advancing innovation in the public sector: Aligning innovation measurement with policy goals, Research Policy, 48(3), pp. 789-798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.12.001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.12.001
Arundel, A., Casali, L. and Hollanders, H. (2015). How European public sector agencies innovate: The use of bottom-up, policy-dependent and knowledge-scanning innovation methods. Research Policy, Vol. 44, Nº 7, pp. 1271–1282. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2015.04.007
Backes, D. S., Colomé, J. S., Erdmann, R. H. and Lunardi, V. L. (2011). Grupo focal como técnica de coleta e análise de dados em pesquisas qualitativas. O Mundo da Saúde, São Paulo, 35(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15343/0104-7809.2011354438442
Bartlett, D. (2003). Producing organisational knowledge through innovation, performance and evaluation: the case of the public sector. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 5(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBPM.2003.003817
Bousquet, H.M., Poltronieri, C. F., Yamanaka, L. and Do Amaral, T. G. (2023). Proposição de diretrizes para a implementação de novas tecnologias na Polícia Técnico-Científica de Goiás. Revista de Gestão e Secretariado, 14, pp. 20777–20797. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7769/gesec.v14i12.2970
Brodtrick, O. (1998). Organizational learning and innovation: tools for revitalizing public services. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 64, pp 83–96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002085239806400107
Burgers, J. H., Arundel, A. and Casali, G. L. (2022). Effect of knowledge search depth, user co-creation and moderating factors on the outcomes of service innovations by European public sector organizations. Public Management Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2022.2118820 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2022.2118820
Choi, T. and Chandler, S. M. (2015). Exploration, Exploitation, and Public Sector Innovation: An Organizational Learning Perspective for the Public Sector. Human Service Organizations Management, Leadership and Governance, 39, pp. 139–151. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2015.1011762
Choi, T. and Chandler, S. M. (2020). Knowledge vacuum: An organizational learning dynamic of how e-government innovations fail. Government Information Quarterly, 37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2019.101416 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2019.101416
Dalkir, K., Wiseman, E., Shulha, M. and Mclntyre, S. (2006). An innovative measurement framework for a government knowledge management initiative (P. Fehér, Ed.). Academic Conferences Limited.
Darroch, J. and Mcnaughton, R. (2002), Examinando a ligação entre as práticas de gestão do conhecimento e os tipos de inovação. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 3, pp. 210-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/14691930210435570
Ferguson, S. and Blackman, D. (2019). Translating innovative practices into organizational knowledge in the public sector: A case study. Journal of Management and Organization, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2017.25 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2017.25
Ferguson, S., Burford, S. and Kennedy, M. (2013). Divergent Approaches to Knowledge and Innovation in the Public Sector. International Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 36(3), 168–178. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2012.749278
Hartley, J. and Rashman, L. (2018). Innovation and inter-organizational learning in the context of public service reform. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 84, pp. 231–248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852318762309
Hennala, L., Konsti-Laakso, S. and Harmaakorpi, V. (2012). Challenges of bringing citizen knowledge into public sector service innovation. In: Practice-Based Innovation: Insights, Applications and Policy Implications, 255–275. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21723-4_14 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21723-4_14
Isik, L. (2025). Innovation interrupted: The gap between value creation and evaluation in the public sector. Government Information Quarterly, 42(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2025.102035. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2025.102035
Kallio, K. and Lappalainen, I. (2015). Organizational learning in an innovation network: Enhancing the agency of public service organizations. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 25, pp. 140–161. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-09-2013-0198 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-09-2013-0198
Khilji, N. K. and Roberts, S. A. (2013). The role of innovative communication channels, effective coordination strategy and knowledge management in the UK local government planning system. Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, 12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219649213500330
Lee, J., and Jin, M. H. (2022). Understanding the organizational learning culture—Innovative behavior relation in local government: The roles of knowledge sharing and job autonomy. Public Administration. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12884 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12884
Limba, R. S., Hutahayan, B., Solimun, S. and Fernandes, A. (2019). Sustaining innovation and change in government sector organizations: Examining the nature and significance of politics of organizational learning. Journal of Strategy and Management, 12, pp. 103–115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-10-2017-0075
Luna-Reyes, L. F. (2009). Government Innovation Through Knowledge Management. In: Knowledge Ecology in Global Business, pp. 291–305. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60566-270-1.ch018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60566-270-1.ch018
Molete, K., Dehinbo, O. J. and Dehinbo, K. O. (2015). An Innovative Knowledge Sharing System for Collaboration in the Public Sector: The Case of a South African Government Department (Vol. 1). Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science.
Niewöhner, N., Asmar, L., Röltgen, D., Kühn, A. and Dumitrescu, R. (2020). The impact of the 4th industrial revolution on the design fields of innovation management. Procedia CIRP. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.02.149 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.02.149
OCDE. (2005). Manual de Oslo: Diretrizes para coleta e interpretação de dados sobre inovação (3ª ed.). Paris: OCDE. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264013124-fr
Ononye, U. (2022). Linking Tacit Knowledge Sharing To Employee Innovation With Job Thriving As A Mediational Factor: A Public Sector Perspective. International Journal of Public Policy and Administration Research, 9, pp. 22–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18488/74.v9i2.3022
Rahim, R. A., Ong, M. H. A., Wahab, L. N. A. and Anwar, N. (2023). Knowledge Management Strategies and Green Innovation Practices: Empirical Evidence from the Malaysian Public Sector. International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Production Research, 34. https://doi.org/10.22068/ijiepr.34.2.9
Richards, G. S. and Duxbury, L. (2015). Work-Group Knowledge Acquisition in Knowledge Intensive Public-Sector Organizations: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 25, pp. 1247–1277. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muu034
Savory, C. (2009). Building knowledge translation capability into public-sector innovation processes. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, pp. 149–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537320802625223 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09537320802625223
Şimşit, Z. T., Vayvay, Ö. and Öztürk, Ö. (2014). An Outline of Innovation Management Process: Building a Framework for Managers to Implement Innovation. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, pp. 690–699. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.021
Souza, M. T. de, Silva, M. D. da and Carvalho, R. de. (2010). Integrative review: what is it? How to do it? Einstein (São Paulo), 8(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/s1679-45082010rw1134
Susanty, A. I., Yuningsih, Y. and Anggadwita, G. (2019). Knowledge management practices and innovation performance: A study at Indonesian Government apparatus research and training center. Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPM-03-2018-0030 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPM-03-2018-0030
Tahir, N. H. and Mitomo, H. (2005). The Impact of Knowledge Enrichment Through ICT Usage on Innovation Capability in the Malaysian Public Sector. Studies En Regional Science, 35(2). https://doi.org/10.2457/srs.35.369 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2457/srs.35.369
Tang, L. L. and Yeh, Y. L. (2015). Effect of organizational culture, leadership style, and organizational learning on organizational innovation in the public sector. Journal of Quality, 22(5). https://doi.org/10.6220/joq.2015.22(5).06
Weyermann, C., Willis, S., Margot, P. and Roux, C. (2023). Towards more relevance in forensic science research and development. Forensic Science International. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111592 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4201185
Zambrano-Gutiérrez, J. C. and Oliveira, J. A. P. (2022). The Dynamics of Sources of Knowledge on the Nature of Innovation in the Public Sector: Understanding Incremental and Transformative Innovations in Local Governments. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 32(4), pp. 656–670. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muab053 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muab053
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Hesther de Macedo Bousquet, Lie Yamanaka, Fabiane Letícia Lizarelli, Lillian do Nascimento Gambi, Camila Poltronieri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
O(s) autor(es) do artigo autorizam a publicação do texto na revista e garantem que a contribuição é original e inédita, não estando em processo de avaliação em outra(s) revista(s). As opiniões, ideias e conceitos emitidos nos textos são de inteira responsabilidade do(s) autor(es), não sendo a revista responsável por tais conteúdos.
Os editores da revista reservam o direito de efetuar ajustes textuais e de adequação às normas da publicação, caso necessário.
Os autores mantêm os direitos autorais sobre o trabalho e concedem à revista o direito de primeira publicação, sendo o trabalho simultaneamente licenciado sob a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), o que permite o compartilhamento do trabalho com reconhecimento da autoria e publicação inicial nesta revista.
Os autores têm autorização para firmar contratos adicionais, separadamente, para distribuição não-exclusiva da versão do trabalho publicada nesta revista (ex.: publicar em repositório institucional ou como capítulo de livro), com reconhecimento de autoria e publicação inicial nesta revista.
