The role of cloud computing in knowledge management for small and medium enterprises: a systematic literature review

Knowing what you don’t know: a tertiary study on knowledge management

Purpose

This paper aims to conduct a tertiary review to analyse the state of the art of literature reviews on knowledge management (KM) published in academic journals and provide an overview of their evolution. From 2000 to 2022, about 500 reviews have been published in the KM field, with most systematic studies compared to bibliometric or meta-analytic studies, and an absence of previous tertiary studies. Therefore, given the lack of previous tertiary research, this paper provides a complete picture of the evolution of review topics in the past and presents implications for both researchers and practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

A classification scheme was defined to cluster and evaluate the literature reviews, both in terms of methodological approach and content. Regarding the content, the various secondary papers were classified according to the purpose of the research (state of the art, taxonomy, research agenda and research framework), the unit of analysis (small and medium enterprise, large company, start-up and university), the KM models adopted and the thematic areas addressed. Furthermore, a tertiary review methodology was identified integrating two main approaches: a bibliometric approach for cluster identification and a systematic approach for the discussion.

Findings

Two categories of contributions emerge from the results: those concerning research topics that have found a continuous interest over time and those that have not yet found a constant research interest. This latter aspect is relevant to help researchers conduct future literature analysis in KM research to bridge existing research gaps.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides a unique compendium of search directions to offer a comprehensive overview of the scientific debate about KM. This overview can also be used as a managerial panacea to identify best KM practice guidelines from existing reviews.

Originality/value

This is a unique attempt to conduct a tertiary study on KM for more than two decades by providing insights into the structural body of knowledge through academic progress in the subject of KM. Thus, this study expands the field of KM and provides original approaches for research in the field.

Knowledge management in SMEs: a follow-up literature review

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to structure existing research on knowledge management (KM) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to offer a comprehensive overview of research strands and topics in KM in SMEs to determine their evolution over time.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper, which is considered a follow-up literature review, is based on a systematic literature review that covers 180 scientific papers that were published since the review paper by Durst and Edvardsson in 2012 that covered 36 papers.

Findings

The findings of this review and those of the aforementioned review are brought together in the form of an overview that structures research on KM in SMEs based on themes that, in turn, allow the derivation of promising research directions and research questions aimed at structuring future research on KM in SMEs.

Originality/value

By combining the findings of this review with the findings from the review published in this journal in 2012, this paper offers, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the most comprehensive literature review on KM in SMEs produced to date.

Knowledge integration for resilience among multinational SMEs amid the COVID-19: from the view of global digital platforms

Purpose

Multinational small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly participating in cross-border digital platforms – especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, knowledge integration (KI) has become more and more important. In fact, it has been deemed by many as the key to organizational resilience. Given this burgeoning phenomenon, this study aims to explore a path for improving the resilience of multinational SMEs. Through this process, this study also finds a relationship between the KI processes associated with adopting global digital platforms and the resiliency of local–global businesses. Hence, in part, this paper also explores the effectiveness of all these mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used the stepwise regression method in Stata 16.0 to analyze the direct effects of both horizontal and vertical KI processes on the resilience of local–global businesses. Additionally, t-tests were also used to compare the differences in coefficients between the mechanisms. The sample analyzed comprised data on multinational manufacturing SMEs in the Yangtze River Delta region of China who are using global digital platforms.

Findings

The KI processes of these firms, both horizontal and vertical, positively correlate to resilience. Horizontal KI processes more efficiently increase the resilience of global businesses, whereas vertical processes more efficiently increase the resilience of local businesses.

Originality/value

First, this study provides insights into how multinational SMEs can improve their resilience in a crisis. In addition to adding to the knowledge of KI processes, this expands the KM literature on pandemics. Second, by creating two KI processes based on global digital platforms and discussing their influence on resilience, this research deepens the understanding of affordance in the KM literature. Third, focusing on the KI research stream, the results shed light on how KI processes might occur and how firms develop their KI processes.