Organizational Innovation as a Strategic Lever for Safety-Oriented Knowledge Ecosystems

This article examines how inter-organizational knowledge management functions as an organizational innovation enabling the strategic coordination of safety priorities within public-private ecosystem. We conduct an exploratory case study in a highly regulated, safety-critical public context, in which the sustainability of knowledge constitutes a strategic priority Drawing on a knowledge ecosystem perspective, it argues that inter-organizational knowledge management extends beyond a technical or collaborative practice and constitutes a strategic organizational innovation that structures coordination, governance, and collective action across organizational boundaries. By contrasting pre-competitive knowledge ecosystems with safety-oriented ecosystems, the article highlights a fundamental difference in strategic purpose. While pre-competitive ecosystems mobilize shared knowledge to support future innovation and competitive advantage, safety-oriented ecosystems conceptualize knowledge as a critical collective resource whose loss would threaten system continuity and mission fulfilment. The article contributes to the literature by reconceptualizing inter-organizational knowledge management as a coordination and emergence process driven by strategic safety imperatives rather than innovation-oriented dynamics. It further shows that the implementation of knowledge management processes and systems operates as an organizational innovation.