Innovation and Sustainability: Two-Sided Knowledge Management by an Ice-Cream Producer.

Knowledge management is inevitably related to decisions about the priority areas it can be applied to. Today, these areas, to a great extent, are conditioned by global trends, such as the increased attention to innovation and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The links between innovation and corporate social responsibility can emerge as a result of the implementation of different types of innovation and the application of different principles of responsibility, thus bringing to enterprises and communities more than a plain summative utility. The synthesis of innovation- and CSR-activities can foster technological development and contribute to the cherishment of natural and socio-cultural environment that gives origins to the enterprises' resources. However, the relationship between innovation and corporate social responsibility remains underexplored. Though some links have already been identified, yet it is not clear which dimensions of CSR are related to which types of innovation, and how this two-sided knowledge converges into one fruitful whole. Therefore, the paper is aimed at the revelation of the relationship between innovation- and CSR-activities in the context of knowledge management. The empirical evidence was based on the case study of an ice-cream producer, and the data assessment and analysis include field study, analysis of the enterprise's annual reports, as well as half-structured interviews with top managers of the structural units of the company. As a result, the dimensions of corporate social responsibility were related with the types of innovation, thus revealing how a creative synthesis of varied knowledge leads to the growth of competitiveness and effectiveness, as well as to the increase in public good for the interested parties. The paper is original in its attempt to reveal the value that is generated as a result of the integration of knowledge on the increasingly popular trends (i.e., innovation and sustainability) by the ice-cream producer into its activities. Besides, the scholarly contribution in the shape of the revelation of the links between certain dimensions of corporate social responsibility and types of innovation is also relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]