The existing ways of doing business are constantly changing, due to rapid changes in the global economy. It may be noted that market conditions determine the options available and competitive advantage stems from a business to its environment. It has become a necessity for business enterprises to respond quickly to these changes. Many business enterprises have started realizing that managing knowledge as innovative process is the way to remain competitive in the changing business scenario (Dwiedi, 2016). It is generally perceived by many enterprises that knowledge management is a technology for preserving and enhancing the knowledge base of an organization. But after a close observation of their organization they may find many elements related to knowledge management are available in their own organization itself. In reality they need to make use of the elements of knowledge sources in their organization for creating knowledge management systems. The geography of the information is not like a map of a city. Information exits in a variety of domains. Some information is further away and harder to access. Some are closer and easily accessible. It is required to draw a map describing the geography of information, charting the zones or domains in which the knowledge resides. The overall challenge that many enterprises face today is identifying where the knowledge resides and to leverage it across to their organization. In spite of heavy investment in information technology infrastructure, business enterprises seem to think that they are fighting a losing battle. Business success lies in converting the information in their systems into knowledge. Now it has become important that one should use one’s own wisdom to convert information into knowledge. In the present business world scenario business enterprises seem to think that “Intellectual capital” and “Knowledge management” are one and the same. In knowledge management clearly indicates a process where as intellectual capital is an entity and asset (Chesbrough, 2006).
In agriculture the cultivable land is made use of growing a crop. Depending on the season a particular type of crop is grown on the same land. Manure is used to increase the output of the crop from the cultivable land. The cultivable land remains the same. The agricultural output from the same land depends on the season and manure used.
Similarly, the knowledge harvesting system is similar to agricultural land in an organization. Data and information from the knowledge management are made use depending on the wisdom of each employee. This approach is known as knowledge harvesting initiative. The method followed by each employee inferring and interpreting the information varies depending on his/her experience and business knowledge. This can be compared to using different type of manure for the different type of crop output from a cultivable land. A group of employees can form as a team and then jointly to address a problem/issue or forming a strategy. This will facilitate them to think differtly from the perception of innovation. This innovative thinking leads to create a knowledge harvesting system for open innovation initiative (Soliman, 2014).
Information is the main base in knowledge harvesting. Cultivable land is the main base in agricultural harvesting. Knowledge and wisdom are the important element in knowledge harvesting. They can be considered as equal ant to manure. Manure and the latest cultivation techniques play an important role in agricultural harvesting.