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Past studies have paid extensive attention to investigate learning issues in individual, organizational and team contexts. Learning activities in the workplace, however, often occur in the interdisciplinary dyadic context. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to clarify what factors make interdisciplinary dyads lead to better learning effects. The authors attempted to clarify two major agendas: What knowledge factors (intellectual capitals) owned by the parties of the dyads can induce better learning effects? What contextual factors (learning tasks) can make better learning effects during the dyadic learning process?

To examine the previous agendas, the authors first conducted in-depth interviews and an exploratory survey so that a four-element dyadic intellectual capital (DIC) architecture was circumscribed: knowledge interdependency, expertise similarity, collaborative routines and mutual trust. Dyadic learning tasks were classified as exploitative and exploratory learning. The authors then sampled 248 respondents for the formal empirical survey to examine the relationship between DIC, dyadic learning tasks and knowledge sharing.

The statistical evidences confirmed the positive relationships between DIC and knowledge sharing, and the results also signified the previous relationships with a mediating effect from exploratory learning, while the effect of exploitative learning was not supported. Thus, only dyads (the two heads) with knowledge interdependency and mutual trust can make the exploratory task better than that of one individual (the one head).

This study provides a new insight into the learning issue with an interdisciplinary dyadic perspective to supplement the existing gap between academic efforts and learning practices in the workplace.

Inter‐firm learning, or dyadic learning, has been studied extensively in recent years: however very little attention has been devoted to extending the concept to an international context and no formal definition exists. The purpose of this paper is to propose “cultural adaptation” as a special form of international dyadic learning and link it to supply relationship performance.

Case studies were conducted in four Chinese‐Western buyer‐supplier relationships, providing cross‐case replication, employing qualitative and quantitative methods. Data were triangulated by questionnaires, semi‐structured interviews, and documentation.

Qualitative and quantitative evidence shows that cultural adaptation can lead to mutual benefits (relationship rents) and inbound spillover rents for both parties in a supply relationship.

Using four cases and a small sample of key informants completing the questionnaire limits generalisability of findings.

The paper develops the causal relationship between cultural adaptation and mutual benefits motivating managers to adapt culturally. It emphasizes that the current relationship performance measures should include guanxi quality in order to adapt to the Chinese context.

Building on extended resource based theory, stating that strategic resources may lie beyond a firm's boundary and that relational and inbound spillover rents may be obtained from the relationship, the research contributes to dyadic or inter‐organisational learning literature by empirically building causal relationships between cultural adaptation (as a form of international dyadic learning) and associated mutual benefits (relational and inbound spillover rents), using multiple data sources and methods and tentatively redefining the dyadic learning concept.

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the academic literature on Supply Chain Learning (SCL), including the definitions, drivers, sources, barriers and consequences of SCL, and to propose an integrated conceptual model.

A systematic literature review has been conducted, with an analysis of 123 papers in peer-reviewed academic journals published from 1998 up to March 2018.

Through analysis and synthesis of the literature, this paper identifies and classifies the concepts of SCL into four types, that is, process orientation, structure orientation, consequence orientation and other informal definitions. Based on the Extended Resource-Based View (ERBV), the authors develop an integrated conceptual framework, which brings together various constructs. Within the framework, the authors identify the drivers and sources of SCL at intra- and inter-organizational levels. SCL consists of exploratory and exploitive learning capabilities, and the outcomes of SCL are dynamic supply chain management capabilities and sustainable supply chain performance.

The authors propose a capability perspective of SCL and develop a conceptual model and a number of associated propositions of SCL based on the ERBV and review findings, which is subject to future empirical testing and propose five future research directions. The findings of this paper can be extended beyond the dyad and be applied in multi-tier supply chain context.

The purpose of this research is to analyse knowledge flows within a transnational educational partnership and to use social network analysis to map out structural differences between the two partners and the evolution of these differences over time.

A single longitudinal case study social network analysis is undertaken over a ten‐year period based on semi‐structured interviews with key informants supported by observational and archival data.

The investigation identifies feedback, feed‐forward and feed‐across knowledge transfer processes resulting in shared personal learning within the network zone and increasing institutionalisation of acquired knowledge.

The findings are based on a single case study setting and further research with similar partnerships needs to be undertaken to establish points of comparison.

How diagrammatic representation can be used to capture key structural issues that underpin the knowledge management process in loosely formed organisational settings.

The paper presents a new diagnostic‐enabling knowledge management model that helps address issues of how knowledge flows/transfer can be analysed and identified between partners at individual, group and organisational level. This model also identifies the inter‐organisational space that bounds the social network under discussion.

This paper investigates how symmetrical learning activity is, between the public client and the private contractor in the contracting and operation of complex, long-term infrastructure projects. Drawing on empirical material from two United Kingdom (UK) private finance initiative (PFI) cases, the paper analyses differences in the absorptive capacity and learning capability between parties. It suggests the private contractor appears to be better equipped to acquire, embed and renew their learning. These findings reflect less than 5 years of a 30-year contract, suggesting a skewed (imbalanced) relationship, where the contractor gains more learning capabilities than the client. The paper concludes with implications for management practice and suggestions for future research directions.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the interaction process between organizations of a knowledge network as a means to promote learning. In particular, the authors aim to answer the following research questions: how do dyadic and network relationships contribute to inter-organizational creation and transfer of knowledge? More specifically, which joint activities between organizations facilitate inter-organizational learning within a knowledge network? That is, the authors are interested in the relationship processes for inter-organisational learning, aiming to identify and understand the joint activities through which organizations within an institutional network generate and transfer knowledge.

Aiming at studying how six institutional actors generate and transfer knowledge, the existing dyadic relationships between a focal actor (a technological center of the textile and clothing industry – CITEVE) and each one of the other five institutional actors were studied. In the study of this knowledge network the authors analyzed several documental sources and carried out 19 interviews.

This study shows how dyadic and network relationships contribute to inter-organisational creation and transfer of knowledge. It assesses several joint activities through which organizations in the studied network learn with each other and compares the five dyadic relationships in terms of their distinctive features. Through the cooperative effort based on joint activities between actors, the studied network generates complementary and multidisciplinary knowledge aiming to promote network learning of the studied organizations. Management implications and suggestions for further research on network learning are discussed.

This paper adds to the literature on network learning and management by empirically illustrating how a network of organizations in a given industry contributes to knowledge generation. It is an original contribution because, first, it allows a better understanding of how organizations of a knowledge network interact and contribute for network learning. In particular, the paper identifies a large number of joint activities for inter-organizational learning in the context of a traditional industry. Second, the research shows empirically how such interaction and learning occur in practice within a network context that comprises only institutional actors.

Organizational studies of time tend to be done by academic researchers rather than practitioners. This chapter builds on academic research to provide a practitioner perspective by reviewing time situated in theory and constructing two phenotypes: timescapes of business and social time. These timescapes are defined by six dimensions, each with a social and business time parameter. Organizational business and social timescapes have different functions and applications. Timescapes, with their concomitant dimensions and sets of parameters, are used differently by senior managers, middle managers, and entry-level managers. Three multi-level approaches (self, dyadic, and social relationships), composition theory, and compilation theory confirm these three managerial timescape usages. After a review of the theoretical bases of the timescape constructs and a brief discussion of the grounded, anthropological, research methodology used in the study, this chapter applies timescape theory and models to an extended time case study of the Procter & Gamble Company that frames the company's timescape understanding and use from a practitioner's view.

The study of theoretical models explaining elder abuse has been one of the main gaps in the literature of the field. The extent of support of each theory is not clear. This study aims to conduct a systematic review to examine research supporting or opposing six theories of elder abuse: caregiver stress theory, social exchange theory, social learning theory, bidirectional theory, dyadic discord theory and the psychopathology of the caregiver.

This study conducts a systematic review of the literature. Seven databases were searched six times using different keywords about each theory.

This paper finds 26,229 references and then organised and analysed these references using pre-established criteria. In total, 89 papers were selected, which contained 117 results of interest; these papers were summarised and assessed for conceptual, methodological and evidence quality. The results showed evidence in favour of all the explored theories, except for social learning theory, whose results indicate multiple interpretations of the theory. This study finishes this paper by proposing that each of these theories might explain different facets of elder abuse and that more research is necessary to understand how the predictions of these different theories interact.

This paper presents an extensive review of the literature on theoretical explanations of elder abuse. The findings can be of value for selecting theories for prevention programmes or providing a summary of the evidence for researchers and practitioners interested in the theoretical explanation of elder abuse.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of empathy in the student service experience. Taking a dyadic perspective, both students’ and staff’s perceptions are analyzed to determine if empathy matters to both actors alike; and which differences in perceptions about the role of empathy between these actors exist.

The authors adopt a multi-method approach and used data from 256 usable survey responses from 11 higher education service providers in Singapore. Empathy was operationalized by six cognitive and affective independent variables and multiple multivariate analyses are applied, such as multivariate analysis of variance, discriminant analysis and multiple regression analysis.

Results show that both students and staff alike evaluate empathy as important in the co-created service experience. The provision of individualized attention to students to positively influence student experience in learning was deemed important by both staff and students. Yet, there are also distinct differences. For students, it is essential that staff members have students’ best interests at heart; for staff members, knowledge of students’ needs and show of care and concern are important.

Students and staff perceive empathy in higher education service provision differently. Interestingly, whilst staff think caring for students is important, students feel that too much care and concern from staff has a negative effect on their experience. Hence, too much care and concern might cause potential issues with the students’ perception of “over-servicing” which might manifest as “spoon-feeding.” Instead, students are asking for individualized and professionalized attention to be taken seriously and to be involved in the co-creation of the education service experience.

This study advances the understanding of affective and cognitive aspects of empathy and their influence on students’ service experiences.

Despite the significance, no study examines the relationship between supply chain (SC) learning components and focal firm performance. This study aims to investigate different types of SC learning (supplier, customer and internal learning) and their influence on the focal firm’s operational and financial performance.

Grounded in knowledge-based view and absorptive capacity theory, this study applies structural equation modeling to test the conceptual model based on data collected from 213 manufacturing firms in China.

The findings indicate that supplier and customer learning improve internal learning. Customer and internal learning have direct influence on operational performance, whereas internal learning mediates the relationship between supplier learning and operational performance. Moreover, all three dimensions of SC learning do not affect financial performance directly but operational performance plays the mediating role in their relationship.

This study only investigates SC learning outcomes without exploring its antecedents. In addition, SC learning and their impacts on firm performance are tested empirically with cross-sectional data collected only from manufacturing firms in China.

The findings furnish managers to seek for competitive advantages through different types of SC learning.

This study offers new insights concerning the performance implications of SC learning. It divides SC learning into dimensions and shows the distinctive impacts of these dimensions on focal firm’s performance using an empirical method.