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capacity of knowledge workers is considered a competitive advantage according to Nonaka (2007). Individuals hold the ideas and knowledge necessary for the creation of new products and services as well as the ability to add value to old ideas and concepts (Seagal & Horne, 1997). Innovation theory states that a manager’s role in the knowledge-based industry is to “manage the environment or context in which work is done” (Johannessen et al., 1999, p. 132). For the DoD, this management comes from the program manager (for defense acquisition programs) and the functional services manager (for service acquisitions), with assistance from members of the acquisition team. The team leverages their expertise to achieve positive results in productivity, fostering innovation, and bolstering military capability while leading a team of government and contractor innovators. The winning manager provides “their people with the best weapons with which to compete, i.e., knowledge and service” (Johannessen et al., 1999, p. 132). The findings of this research will enable knowledge managers in the DoD to integrate the results into their own KM stream, fully capitalizing on the ability to achieve innovative solutions through the CSO process. Commercial Solutions Opening Legislative History, Policy, and Procedures With a basis of innovation theory and before delving into the FAR processes and other acquisition flexibilities that broadly led to the creation of the CSO, it is important to define its immediate history, policy, and procedures. On June 26, 2018, Class Deviation 2018-O0016, Defense Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program, was published allowing contracting officers to “acquire innovative commercial items, technologies, or services using a competitive procedure called a CSO” under the authority of Section 879 of the NDAA for FY 2017 (Assad, 2018). This authority was set to expire on September 30, 2022; however, less than 4 years later, on February 4, 2022, Class Deviation 2022-O0007, Defense Commercial Solutions Opening, rescinded and superseded the previous class deviation to give the CSO permanent authority by Section 803 of the NDAA FY 2022 (Tenaglia, 2022). Minimal procedures are required when a contracting officer chooses to utilize a CSO under this class deviation. However, key operational aspects germane to this research are provided in Figure 1.
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Defense ARJ , Spring 2025, Vol. 32 No. 1
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