Tracing the evolution of the literature on knowledge management in inter-organizational contexts: a bibliometric analysis

Knowledge management and performance: a bibliometric analysis based on Scopus and WOS data (1988–2021)

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the trends manifested in literature from the area of knowledge management and performance, with emphasis on bibliometric analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

To explore the studies focused on the area under investigation, the authors performed a search in ISI Web of Science and Scopus using the combination of keywords such as “Knowledge management” AND “Performance.” Generally, this study covered a period of 33 years, from 1988 to 2021 because the first study was published in 1970 and the databases have not covered all the journals and studies which date back to the early 1970s or 1980s. The final data set comprised 1,583 publications with 40 articles removed during the screening and eligibility process.

Findings

The results of the bibliometric analysis indicate that the interest in the area of knowledge management and performance has significantly increased, especially from 2000 to 2021. The application of bibliometric analysis on the relationship between knowledge management and performance uncovered various themes, productive authors and widely cited documents. The study highlighted how the knowledge management–performance relationship has evolved over the years and how the interplay between knowledge management and performance may help the firms in gaining the sustainable competitive advantage.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to conduct the bibliometric analysis on knowledge management and performance. This study can be a starting point for scholars interested in understanding how knowledge management is related to performance.

The effect of cultural orientations (performance and sociality) on country innovation: a trajectories analysis perspective

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the effects of cultural orientations (performance and sociality) on the trajectories of innovation inputs and their results in different countries worldwide between 2011 and 2021.

Design/methodology/approach

As a technique for data analysis, one of the spatial Bayesian models and Gray forecasting methods is used. This technique is adequate to achieve the objectives of the investigation because it allows analyzing how the variables move in time ranges and allow the generation of forecasts. This model also allows knowing if there are spills, which investing in a country can positively affect countries with geographical proximity. The databases used were the Global Innovation Index with data from 131 nations and the Globe Project with data from 157 countries between 2011 and 2021. The variables analyzed are institutions, human capital, research infrastructure, market sophistication and business sophistication. On the other hand, regarding moderations of cultural orientations, The Globe Project developed two factors: performance orientation (high degree of masculinity, avoidance of ambiguity, power distance and future orientation) and humane orientation (high-level of femininity, institutional and societal collectivism).

Findings

The results reveal that all inputs grow at different rates over time. In the case of institutions, it is the most difficult to generate changes over time. However, human capital, market sophistication and business sophistication are the ones that have grown the most over time, regardless of the country’s cultural orientation.

Research limitations/implications

Among the main limitations is the set of data used because it only considers one approach to culture, especially the one considered by Hofstede. However, other approaches could help evaluate the results of this research. Considering the results obtained, the study attempts to provide a different view of the effects of cultural variables on companies’ innovation performance in different countries in the world. In the same way, evaluating these effects allows firms to consider variables associated with the country that will affect the strategies and performance of the firm.

Practical implications

The results achieved make it possible to strengthen the analysis of the countries’ strategies when it comes to innovation, especially in the permanent evaluation of the results that allow to encourage changes in the execution of innovative activities to maintain their performance over time.

Social implications

The contributions allow us to understand the dynamics of innovation in the knowledge and creative outputs of countries over time.

Originality/value

The trajectory analysis used in the data analysis is perhaps one of the most robust techniques that makes a time series analysis. This allows identifying trajectories for the independent variables of the study and their influence on the innovation of the country.

Exploring the longitudinal effects of emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence on knowledge management processes

Managing knowledge has become a new reality for multinational corporations (MNCs). Previous studies in the management field have closely examined personality traits as stable dispositional constructs over time, but they oversighted the possibilities that seemingly stable traits are likely to have different effects on outcomes in varying time waves. Combining horizontal and longitudinal surveys, this study collected two-wave datasets of 216 employees from MNCs, and built Fixed, Continuous and Interacting Models to investigate the effects of individual emotional intelligence (EI) and cultural intelligence (CI) as key traits on the processes of organizational knowledge management (KM) over time. This study discovered the fixed, continuous and interacting roles of EI and CI in KM processes at different times, and it also concluded that the traditional assumption of conceptualizing the effects of dispositional variables as fixed should be re-examined. The findings provided empirical and statistical evidence for future research as well as management suggestions for MNCs implementing KM practices.

A review of knowledge management research in the past three decades: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose

This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis on knowledge management from journals in the Scopus database between 1988 and 2021. The paper covered the past three decades of publications and carried out performance analysis and science mapping analysis of articles.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses bibliometrics, performance analysis and science mapping analysis of 1,016 articles extracted from the Scopus database. The study examined the scientific productivity of articles, productive authors, citable documents, most relevant institutions, cited countries, co-occurrence of keywords, thematic mapping, co-citations and collaboration of authors and countries. The study used Biblioshiny as a tool to carry out the performance analysis and science mapping analysis.

Findings

The results show that the number of publications has significantly increased in the past decade, 88.4% of authors contribute at least a single article, 8.3% of authors published two articles, 2% of the authors published three documents and 0.6% of the authors contribute four papers. The USA, China and Australia were the most productive countries in terms of the total number of citations and foreign collaborations. Journal of Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Research and Practice, VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management and International Journal of Technology Management are the top outlets in the knowledge management literature.

Originality/value

Over the past decade, the research on knowledge management construct has exploded because of the growing interest of researchers and practitioners in the field. Despite being a well-developed field, few studies have applied bibliometric analysis in the knowledge management literature. The study is more comprehensive in terms of the actors and methods involved in analyzing the scientific production of articles in the area of knowledge management.

Exploring the remote work challenges in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: review and application model

Purpose

Remote work (RW) literature is a megatrend in HRM literature, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of RW as a concept and an organisational practice. Given the large number of papers being published on remote work, there is a need for a critical review of the extant literature using bibliometric analysis. This paper examines the literature on remote working to identify the factors crucial for managing a remote workforce. This study uses the complex adaptive systems theory as a foundation to build a framework that organisations can use to manage their remote workforce, focusing on three outcomes: employee engagement, collaboration and organisational agility.

Design/methodology/approach

Bibliometric analysis was conducted on the research published in Scopus journal in the area of remote work, followed by critical literature analysis.

Findings

The bibliometric analysis identified five clusters that reflect five organisational factors which the management can align to achieve the desired outcomes of engagement, collaboration and agility: technology orientation, leadership, HRM practices, external processes and organisational culture. The present findings have important implications for managing the remote workforce.

Originality/value

The five factors were mapped to propose a conceptual model on engaging individual employees, fostering team collaboration and building organisational agility while working remotely. We also propose an application model for using technology to achieve the outcomes of engagement, collaboration and agility in the organisation. Practitioners could use this framework to focus on the factors that can create a conducive environment to improve work efficiency in a remote workforce.

Knowledge Sharing Enablers in Small Business Networks

In an increasingly knowledge-based global economy, social capital and knowledge sharing, particularly amongst small business, have become critical sources of competitive advantage, but how can such knowledge sharing be enabled? The objective of this research was to explore the effect of knowledge sharing enablers on knowledge sharing in female small business networks. This research addresses the call for research into the antecedents of social capital. Specifically, Trust, Social Identity, Social Media Usage and Shared Goals were included in the conceptual model for the study. Together these social capital enablers were found to be significant predictors of knowledge sharing behaviour although unique contributions varied. The research contributes to the growing body of literature on the dimensions of social capital and how they affect knowledge management, and is of use to practitioners involved in supporting female entrepreneurial networks.

Digital Resources Integration and Performance Evaluation Under the Knowledge Management Model in Academic Libraries

Leveraging a knowledge management model (KMM), organizing digital resources, and measuring performance beyond digital libraries continue to be hot topics for many organizations. Given its growing importance, the aim of this study was to design a robust integrated research model based on social cognitive theory and KMM to organize resources and improve the productivity of academic librarians to make services effective. Using a quantitative method based on key data collected by librarians at Pakistani universities, the researchers reviewed previously published literature and sought expert opinions to develop a research tool. The authors distributed 350 printed questionnaires to professionals from 190 universities, of which 339 were returned. These were analyzed to test the hypotheses and assess the accuracy of the measurement and structural models. After undergoing rigorous statistical analysis, the seven constructs using Social Cognitive Theory and the Knowledge Management Model have proven to be suitable for digital asset integration, employee productivity measurement, and high-quality academic services. In addition, the model based on social cognitive theory supports the application of KMM to promote knowledge culture, resource organization, and successful integration and innovation of academic services by enhancing the technical and professional skills of staff in academic institutions.

Knowledge management and modern digital transformation of the property management industry in China

Purpose

In the current urban and increasingly digital/information era, the service of property management towards residents is of key importance to the well-being of society, which is especially well reflected in its role during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. However, professional knowledge management (KM) has yet to be applied to the daily operation of the property management companies in this sector. The authors posit that introduction of KM concepts to property management at this time would significantly help facilitate the transition of traditional property management towards a higher and more effective value-added service model. From the perspective of KM, this study aims to offer both a theoretical and practical analysis of such a novel business model for companies in the property management industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the current status quo of property management, the authors integrate theories from both KM and information-digital management to qualitatively analyse the challenges and difficulties companies are facing and importantly offer practical suggestions for the centralization, digital-information platform establishment and service innovation.

Findings

Following the analysis of KM and digital-information modeling, the authors identify three main challenges facing property management services offered in the current digital society including market fragmentation, lack of digital platforms and the absence of a unitary service model. Therefore, the authors propose strategic solutions to resolve these aforementioned problems. Specifically, the authors suggest centralizing property management service, the establishment of a KM-based digital platform and the upgrading of the service model, towards offering a new impetus for the development of companies in property management.

Research limitations/implications

The authors offer essential guidelines derived from knowledge and information management and explore their implications both from a theoretical, as well as pragmatic/practical perspective that overall would support property management companies’ crucial transition from the traditional service model to a more digital-based foundation, and hence, provide a higher value-added service for the residents.

Originality/value

The current study is one of the first attempts to analyse property management services from the perspective of KM with digital transformation enabling its transition to an information-based internet of things infrastructure. The study not only offers practical guidance to the business of property management but importantly, also contributes to the theoretical underpinnings of KM especially as related to secure serviceability, well-being, security and efficiency of the residential environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.

What drives inter-organisational knowledge management? The cause and effect analysis using a multi-layer multi-criteria decision-making framework

Purpose

Knowledge management seeks collaborative practices among organisations to generate technical, adapt and share knowledge to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage in cross-border business activities. This paper aims to disentangle the crucial determinants of knowledge management in inter-organisational arrangements settings.

Design/methodology/approach

In the first stage, after an in-depth literature review, the main knowledge management drivers are identified. In the second stage, based on the identified drivers, the importance and relationship between the drivers are evaluated by expert opinions from academic and executive activists. Eventually, in the last stage, a multi-layer decision-making approach has been proposed and used to determine the relationship and the importance of the drivers.

Findings

The findings of this paper assess the ranking of the different elements from experts’ opinions and discuss important theoretical and managerial implications. The influential factors were identified through an extensive literature review, which combined with the views of experts from academia and industry (international firms). Furthermore, the ranking of factors based on the experts’ overall opinion was used to discuss theoretical and managerial contributions.

Originality/value

This research provides a better understanding of the interrelationships between the key drivers of knowledge management, which helps management draw more effective strategies to address the cultural differences between firms. Moreover, understanding of the importance of the systems and structures that define the nature of the collaboration in inter-organisational settings, as well as the risks related to those are presented in this research.

Preventing organizational knowledge leakage: the influence of knowledge seekers’ awareness, motivation and capability

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how a knowledge-seeking organization’s awareness of valuable knowledge, and the motivation and capability to acquire the knowledge, influence attempts to acquire the knowledge. This study also aims to identify how knowledge-possessing organizations recognize the possibility of and craft strategies to prevent this knowledge leakage.

Design/methodology/approach

A process model is created and an empirical examination is performed to help knowledge-possessing organizations understand and identify situations where potential knowledge-seeking organizations will attempt to acquire valuable knowledge.

Findings

Knowledge-seeking organizations must be aware of valuable knowledge, and have the motivation and capability to acquire it in order to attempt to acquire the knowledge. Accordingly, knowledge-possessing organizations can inhibit awareness, motivation and capability of potential knowledge-seeking organizations to stave off and degrade knowledge acquisition attempts.

Research limitations/implications

Employment of the awareness, motivation and capability framework provides a comprehensive approach for researchers to hypothesize and empirically examine the factors most relevant to knowledge leakage. This approach expands the literature on absorptive capacity by increasing emphasis on awareness and motivation with regard to knowledge acquisition.

Practical implications

Employment of the awareness, motivation and capability framework provides managers with the means to comprehensively assess the likelihood that other organizations will attempt to acquire their knowledge. It also helps managers determine efficient and effective ways to inhibit knowledge leakage.

Originality/value

The authors pioneer the application of the awareness, motivation and capability framework to knowledge leakage. The authors subsequently propose a process model and empirically examine the relationships pertaining to knowledge leakage and its prevention.

Mapping the field of knowledge management: a bibliometric analysis using R

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to offer the bibliometric analysis of the Journal of Knowledge Management (JKM) to understand how the literature has developed over time.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used bibliometric approaches to analyze a sample of 669 studies from 1997 to 2021. This study focused on performance analysis and scientific mapping of articles using the R package.

Findings

The results indicate that the number of publications during the period has significantly increased which shows a growing interest of researchers in the JKM. This study highlights new emerging themes such as change management, change readiness, product innovation and digital libraries which uncover exciting avenues for new research opportunities. USA and UK were the most productive countries in terms of the number of citations followed by few European countries including Spain, Finland, Germany and Sweden. However, it is worth noting that India was the most productive country in the emerging economies.

Practical implications

This study will act as a guide for researchers of various fields to evaluate the development of scientific publications in a particular theme over time, especially for those who are in the field of knowledge management (KM).

Originality/value

This study aims to accomplish the systematic bibliometric analysis of the JKM for more than two decades, providing useful insights into the key developments in the field of KM. This study is more rigorous and comprehensive in terms of the analytical techniques used.

Health-care information technologies for dispersed knowledge management

Purpose

The health-care industry has multiple stakeholders, with knowledge dispersed among clinicians, experts and patients and their families. As the adoption of health-care information technologies (HITs) depends on multiple factors, this study aims to uncover the motivators for adopting them.

Design/methodology/approach

The study considers 391 respondents, representing the health-care sector, to evaluate the motivators for adopting HITs for better-dispersed knowledge management. The authors analyze the responses using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify the actual structure of the factors, followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Findings

EFA categorized the factors into four classes: quality management; information sharing; strategic governance; and available technological infrastructure. CFA revealed that the strategic governance factor is most predictive of successfully adopting HITs that model the normative pressure of Institutional theory in health-care organizations. These results indicate that, along with considerations of finances, care quality and infrastructure, effective government involvement and policy-making are important for successful HIT adoption.

Practical implications

Results reveal that stakeholders’ motivating factors for HIT adoption in a developed economy like the United Arab Emirates are based on considering HITs as a knowledge management mechanism. These factors may help other nations in HIT implementation and drive valuable innovations in the health-care sector. This research presents the implications for health-care professionals and stakeholders in relation to adopting HITs and their role in knowledge flow for efficient care.

Originality/value

HITs offer an affordable and convenient platform for collaboration among diverse teams in the health-care sector. Apart from this, it helps in facilitating an interactive platform for knowledge creation and transfer for the benefit of users and providers.

Knowledge creation in patent ecosystems: insights from Singapore

Purpose

This paper aims to better understand how codified knowledge that originates in organizations contributes to the generation of idiosyncratic knowledge embedded at a more expansive level, such as that of an ecosystem. In doing so, the authors introduce the concept of patent ecosystems – conceived as configurations of codified knowledge advancements protected via patents.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a patent co-classification method and introducing a novel validated software, the authors map and visualize the patent ecosystem of Singapore and examine 173,597 patents published from 1995 to 2020.

Findings

Results reveal the prominent growth of Singapore’s patenting activities, capturing a patent ecosystem shift, from a more diverse knowledge configuration to a more specialized one. The codified knowledge mainly generated deals with pharmaceuticals and high-tech knowledge domains; further, newly emerging technologies such as blockchain are also noted.

Research limitations/implications

The research investigates Singapore’s context, a country in which research directions and focus areas are influenced by government interventions and leadership. Thus, future studies might examine other patent ecosystems to draw comparisons with more laissez-faire policies or ecosystems with more pronounced organic development.

Originality/value

The novelty of this research is the introduction of the concept of a patent ecosystem for advancing a more fine-grained understanding of the aggregated knowledge generated at the ecosystem level and its specific features, composition and development. The authors consider patents as “carriers” of different codified pieces of knowledge and patent ecosystems represent the configuration that emerges from connections of these elements. The novel approach can aid both researchers, practitioners and policymakers with future examinations in the field.

Demystifying the role of internal dynamics in the path of innovative competitiveness: a serial mediation model of international joint ventures

Purpose

The study proposes and evaluates a parsimonious research framework by integrating the major strategic theories related to an international firm's internal dynamics. This research's essence lies in the proposition that organizational competencies, knowledge resources and processes, absorptive capacity and innovativeness form the underlying base for sustainable competitive advantage in this dynamic world.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional explanatory research design is adopted. Using the quantitative data obtained from the sample of Indian international joint ventures (IJVs), partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is deployed to confirm the proposed relationships among the research constructs. Finally, qualitative interviews helped in triangulating the primary survey's results.

Findings

A well-established relationship between knowledge transfer and innovation is negated by the Indian IJVs' data, which is delved deeper with cross-industry qualitative analysis. The novel hierarchical model with multiple mediations has nurtured quite exciting results for the business world with some significant theoretical and managerial implications.

Research limitations/implications

This study has investigated the nexus between multi-dimensional organizational competencies, knowledge transfer, absorptive capacity and venture innovativeness in the context of Indian IJVs. It has emphasized the role of internal dynamics in cross-cultural joint ventures to attain sustainable competitiveness through strategic and technological efficiency.

Originality/value

The study has addressed the specific research gap of under-investigation of dynamic capabilities and sustainable competitiveness in international joint ventures. It has investigated a complex model of multiple mediations, yielding interesting quantitative results with qualitative insights; which is rare to match in literature.

Why do organizations share their most important capital? The provision of an open innovation model based on human capital

Purpose

In this study, an open innovation (OI) model was designed in which the organization’s human resource systems comprise the main core. To identify the various dimensions of the model, this study aims to investigate how and under what conditions the organizations update and upgrade their knowledge and experiences in the human capital (HC) systems domain within the OI framework and in line with sharing them with other organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

In this qualitative study, the data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and analyzed through grounded theory, which led to the extraction of the final model.

Findings

The implementation of the HC-based OI helps upgrade knowledge in the organization and industry knowledge, create win-win relationships and increase the interaction capital, power and credit of the organization.

Originality/value

In this study, HC systems have been regarded as the core of the OI model (rather than an intervening factor in OI). This is the main innovative aspect of the current study. In addition, the special attention paid to the inside-out approach to OI and the examination of the human and social aspects of inter-organizational knowledge sharing – particularly in the light of the fact that the study was carried out in a developing country – are the other innovative aspects of this study.

Dispersed knowledge management in ecosystems

Purpose

Accessing and sharing dispersed knowledge in ecosystems is neither easy nor automatic. In ecosystems, focal firms should purposely create the right conditions and act to deal with dispersed knowledge. This study aims to investigate how focal firms manage dispersed knowledge in ecosystems characterized by a set of autonomous, heterogeneous, yet interdependent actors involved in experimentation under uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a conceptual framework based on preceding literature, this study conducted a broad qualitative case study of 6 firms and 12 projects, with 43 semi-structured interviews to identify the patterns of actions associated with dispersed knowledge management (KM) in ecosystems. This paper combines coding and multiple case comparisons to examine the processes and strategies used by the firms to strategically manage dispersed knowledge in ecosystems.

Findings

This paper proposes a framework that articulates a new type of orchestration (dispersed knowledge orchestration) and offers a new set of dispersed knowledge strategies (transfer, modularity and circular) for ecosystems.

Practical implications

Innovation and knowledge managers play the roles of dispersed knowledge orchestrators. The study offers guidance on how focal firms should carefully use a particular set of approaches (e.g. integrative theorization) including a portfolio of dispersed knowledge strategies in ecosystems.

Originality/value

Current literature on KM and ecosystem management offers a limited understanding of how organizations manage dispersed knowledge in ecosystems. The research provides three major original contributions. First, the framework contributes to broadening the current understanding of ecosystem orchestration by identifying the micro-foundations of dispersed knowledge orchestration: integrative theorization, nurturing distributed sensemaking and a new chapter for ecosystem governance (i.e. dispersed knowledge governance). Moreover, the framework proposes a new type of strategy, the dispersed knowledge strategy. Finally, by exploring the interplay between the micro-foundations of dispersed knowledge orchestration and dispersed knowledge strategy, the results contribute to a multi-level approach in the field.

Cultural distance and inter-organizational knowledge transfer: a case study of a multinational company

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore a phenomenon in knowledge management that has been given scant attention: the influence of cultural distance on inter-organizational knowledge transfer in the context of multinational companies involving headquarters in the USA and a subsidiary in Sri Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach

Designed as a qualitative exploratory study, data was collected through in-depth interviews of 15 participants and documents review.

Findings

The findings of this study implied that the theoretically introduced cultural dimensions shall be relevant to analyze the phenomenon of this study. Consequently, through the findings of this study, it is argued that inter-organizational knowledge transfer in multinational companies is influenced by cultural distance.

Research limitations/implications

This study theoretically and empirically contributes to the debates on knowledge transfer in knowledge management research in general and, inter-organizational knowledge transfer in multinational companies between headquarters and subsidiaries with respect to the influence of cultural distance in particular, through the light of Trompenaars’ (1993) cultural dimensions theory.

Practical implications

The findings of this study could motivate the practitioners to take into account: the influence of cultural distance on inter-organizational knowledge transfer, if inter-organizational knowledge transfer happens in similar contexts: multinational companies with a headquarters in the USA (a western context) and a subsidiary in Sri Lanka (a non-western context) in the practical business world.

Originality/value

This study provides theoretical and empirical insights into the influence of cultural distance on inter-organizational knowledge transfer in multinational companies between headquarters and subsidiaries in the selected context while suggesting various avenues for further research toward the influence of cultural distance on such phenomenon in similar/dissimilar contexts.

Knowledge Management Practices for Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Challenge for Business Education

In the last decades, business competition has been increasingly among supply chains (SCs) rather than individual firms. Today, considering the challenges of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, it is becoming even more vital to coordinate and co-manage company resources, activities, and innovative efforts at the SC level. Consequently, knowledge, which is a critical resource for companies, needs to be managed properly not only in single firms but also across SCs. For the education of business managers, this implies a double challenge: first, to make students and future executives become aware of the knowledge management (KM) practices that can be adopted; second, to facilitate the assimilation of these practices for the effective management of SCs, to ensure higher economic and environmentally sustainable performances. Standard definitions and classifications can be of great help, but the current studies are very fragmented. This study contributes by exploring the literature and examining the KM practices that are proposed and defined by the different authors. A systematic review and a descriptive analysis of selected papers showed the trend and focus of papers in the KM and SC fields. In addition, based on the definitions and classifications drawn from the literature, this paper discusses a possible systematization of the key KM practices in SCs. The major contribution of this paper is the effort of re-definition and re-classification of KM practices and their potential importance for effective and sustainable SC management. This analysis can be especially useful for organizing KM courses targeted to current and future business managers.

Knowledge management within a strategic alliances context: past, present and future

Purpose

This paper aims at reviewing the extant knowledge management (KM) research field within a strategic alliance context to understand the historical roots, its temporal progression, current state and potential future in a meaningful way.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study was retrieved from the Scopus database using a systematic literature search process. The bibliometric characteristics of 393 research documents were analyzed using bibliometric and structured network analysis.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that the publication in the field have been growing with an average rate of 8.48%. This analysis also lists the most productive and impactful authors, main outlets, and the most impactful secondary and primary publication in the field. In addition, the conceptual and intellectual structure of the research field was constructed and discussed.

Originality/value

This paper uses an objective and quantitative approach by reviewing the related publications and virtually included all the relevant publications in the analysis, which was seen to be uneconomical when doing traditional literature reviews.

Knowledge sharing in an interorganizational setting: empirical evidence from the Orange Line metro train project

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on knowledge sharing process in an interorganizational setting. For this purpose, the context examined is the Orange Line metro train project in Pakistan, in which multiple organizations are involved.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a single case study approach. The empirical data comprises semi-structured interviews and archival documents. Thematic analysis is used for analyzing the data.

Findings

The findings present distinct mechanisms of knowledge sharing, which include knowledge sharing tools, both formal and informal; types of knowledge, i.e. tacit and explicit knowledge; and levels of units such as individuals, teams, organizations (internal knowledge sources) and the interorganizational level (external knowledge sources). Based on the findings, the authors propose an integrative model of the interplay between knowledge sharing tools, types of knowledge and levels of units. Furthermore, the findings depict that the knowledge sharing tools and types of knowledge are important at different levels of units, but their importance may vary depending on whether they are primary or supporting for different levels of units.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature on knowledge-based theory by examining knowledge sharing in an interorganizational project. The proposed model deepens our understanding of the practices and processes of interorganizational knowledge sharing.

The role of client knowledge absorptive capacity for innovation in KIBS

Purpose

This paper aims to study the relationship between the knowledge exchanged during client interactions and innovation in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) enterprises. It adapts the concept of absorptive capacity, i.e. the ability of the firm to successfully deal with external knowledge, to the case of client knowledge being absorbed with the support of information and communication technologies and explores whether its three main dimensions (acquisition, assimilation and application of client knowledge) are significant enablers of KIBS’ innovation propensity.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical analysis is based on a dataset of 417 Russian KIBS companies collected in 2019 following the recommendations suggested in the new edition of Oslo Manual. To examine the relationship between the three-client knowledge absorptive capacity dimensions and implementation of different types of innovation by KIBS, the study applies linear ordinary least squares and logistic regression methods.

Findings

The results show that acquisition of client knowledge through the wide number of digital channels, assimilation of such knowledge boosted by its codification through a digital customer relationship management (CRM) system and application of client knowledge across different functional areas are positively associated with both product and business process innovations in KIBS.

Originality/value

The paper proposes that KIBS should develop and sustain the strong internal capacity to absorb knowledge through routine day-to-day client interactions as a part of their knowledge management systems. The results also indicate that application of digital communication tools and CRM systems are beneficial for KIBS and increases their propensity to innovate.