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The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the business model (BM) from a knowledge-based view (KBV), to interpret its nature and knowledge structure and to investigate the relationship between its imitability and the erosion of firm’s competitive advantage.

Based on a systematic literature review, this study builds an integrated framework to explicate the nature and structure of the BM from a KBV. Moreover, on the analysis of two contrasting cases, the argument concerning the relationship between BM imitability and its strategic value is proposed, analyzed and supported.

The main finding of this study is that a BM can be viewed as a structured knowledge cluster that contains explicit and implicit parts. Its imitation is a dynamic process of knowledge diffusion across firm boundaries. Ceteris paribus, with a lower proportion of implicit knowledge, a BM is more likely to be imitated and the adopter’s competitive advantage is more likely to be eroded, and vice versa.

The proposed framework could provide managers with a deeper understanding of the nature and structure of the BM and help potential adopters develop a successful entry strategy by avoiding BMs that seem profitable but are incapable of maintaining competitive advantage.

As a complement to previous studies, the research conceptualizes the BM as a “structured knowledge cluster” to explicate its nature and knowledge structure from a KBV. The implicit part of the BM is explored, and its importance for the adopter’s competitive advantage is discussed and verified.

Seeks to argue for a phenomenology of embodied implicit and narrative knowing in organizations and show the significance of experiential dimensions of implicit and narrative knowing and their mutual interrelations in organizations.

For this the advanced phenomenology of Merleau‐Ponty will be used as a framework for clarifying the relational status of tacit, implicit and narrative knowing and their embedment.

Implicit and narrative processes of knowing are inherently linked. Moreover, both forms of knowing in organizations and its implications can be integrated in a Con‐+‐Text.

Some limitations and practical implications will be discussed critically. In conclusion some perspectives of further phenomenological research on embodied implicit and narrative knowing in organizations are presented.

This approach contributes to a processual, non‐reductionist and relational understanding of knowing and offers critical and practical perspectives for creative and transformative processes in organizations, bridging the gap between theory and practice. It provides innovative perspectives with regard to the interrelation of embodied and narrative knowing in organizations.

The essence of core competitiveness in an enterprise is the ability to embed knowledge into the routine work of the enterprise and to transform personal knowledge into corporate assets. The purpose of this paper is to explore this area.

This study reviews three interoperated variables of external knowledge acquisition, enterprise knowledge accumulation, and knowledge accumulation mechanism to construct a model of knowledge interoperability within firms.

This study finds that in the thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT‐LCD) industry, implicit knowledge collected through the interactive coordination mechanism has a significant impact on the knowledge accumulation of the enterprise, where knowledge is accumulated in real technology systems and employees’ skills. The more willing companies are to invest resources in the shaping of knowledge and the environment, the more successful they will be in transforming implicit knowledge into explicit knowledge.

This study points to a new direction of interchanging implicit and explicit knowledge within firms.

This study argues that an improved interoperability of firm‐level knowledge can mitigate problems of knowledge integration and sharing, leading to better decisions and greater partner synergies.

Knowledge transformation allows employees to share and transfer valuable experience and knowledge within the enterprise and forms a knowledge‐intensive corporate culture or work environment, creating so‐called learning‐ and innovation‐oriented enterprises.

This study provides the impetus of valuable experience and knowledge of employees to be fully shared and passed on, resulting in a corporate culture and working atmosphere that creates the so‐called learning‐oriented enterprise or innovative enterprise.

The purpose of this paper is to examine knowledge sharing with external partners within the China context, demonstrating that paternalistic leadership combined with the resulting reciprocal relations between leaders and employees are accountable for knowledge transfer with external partners based on social exchange.

This study collected data at two time-points and obtained 391 usable observations for hypothesis testing using questionnaire surveys administered to the managers of major Chinese companies.

Empirical analysis of employees at major Chinese firms shows that paternalistic leadership may encourage perceived reciprocal support from employees that results in smooth knowledge sharing with outsiders in the form of voluntary helping behaviors.

This study expects that both scholars and practitioners will gain answers on how to best encourage employees into contributing toward relationships with external stakeholders within the China context. One valuable point in this study is demonstrating that Chinese firms’ benevolent leadership promotes human relationships and thereby long-term relationships with alliance partners, while their moral leadership promotes ethical trust between alliance partners. These factors may accordingly further increase knowledge sharing opportunities with external partners.

This paper aims to explore the differences in the level of knowledge sharing between co-workers in high versus low trust situations, for cognition-based trust and for affect-based trust as well as implicit and explicit knowledge.

The differences were examined through data provided by 102 professionals working for a financial organization in The Netherlands.

The differences in the level of knowledge sharing in high versus low trust situations are significant. The effect is larger for affect-based trust and for implicit knowledge.

The survey has been conducted within one organization only.

Organizations should realize the importance of trust between their co-workers, and in general, there is much to gain by increasing the levels of trust between co-workers, as this will also increase knowledge sharing between co-workers.

Previous studies have not examined the situation of low trust and its effect on the level of knowledge sharing within a homogeneous group of co-workers.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the influence of information and knowledge exchange and sharing between managers and non-executive directors is important in assessing the dynamic processes of accountability in boardrooms. By analysing information/knowledge at multiple levels, invoking the literature on implicit/tacit and explicit information/knowledge, the authors show that information asymmetry is a necessary condition for effective boards. The authors introduce a conceptual model of manager-non-executive director information asymmetry as an outcome of the interpretation of information/knowledge-sharing processes amongst board members. The model provides a more nuanced agenda of the management-board information asymmetry problem to enable a better understanding of the role of different types of information in practice.

The analysis of information/knowledge exchange, sharing and creation and the resultant conceptual model are based on the following elements: manager-non-executive director information/knowledge, management-board information/knowledge and board dynamics and reciprocal processes converting implicit/tacit into explicit information/knowledge.

The paper provides new insights into the dynamics of information/knowledge exchange, sharing and creation between managers and non-executive directors (individual level)/between management and boards (group level). The authors characterise this as a two-way process, back-and-forth between managers/executive directors and non-executive directors. The importance of relative/experienced “ignorance” of non-executive directors is revealed, which the authors term the “information asymmetry paradox”.

The authors set out key opportunities for developing a research agenda from the model based on prior research of knowledge conversion processes and how these may be applied in a boardroom setting.

The model may assist directors in better understanding their roles and the division of labour between managers and non-executive directors from an information/knowledge perspective.

The authors apply Ikujiro Nonaka’s knowledge conversion framework to consider the transitioning from individual implicit personal to explicit shared information/knowledge, to understand the subtle processes at play in boardrooms influencing information/knowledge exchange, sharing and creation between managers and non-executive directors.

In third world countries the subsistence of millions of persons depends on the work of organizations operating in the non‐profit sector. The purpose of this paper to explore how knowledge management awareness and practices could create more efficient organizations despite their lack of human and financial resources. This paper aims to make a contribution to the knowledge management literature in the non‐profit sector of third world countries. In particular, the main results from an explorative survey of Peruvian non‐profit organizations are analyzed and discussed.

Data was generated from a questionnaire survey of 106 Peruvian organizations operating in the non‐profit sector. Part of the questionnaire was inspired from an existing knowledge management acquisition cycle for non‐profit organizations.

Though only medium to low levels of knowledge management awareness were found in the Peruvian non‐profit sector, implicit knowledge management practices were observed on a large scale independently of the size and category of the non‐profit organizations. Some organizational variables and their negative effects on knowledge management practices are discussed.

A guideline to increase organizational efficiency based on the development of knowledge management awareness is suggested.

This paper is one of the first to explore and present statistical‐based results on knowledge management practices in the non‐profit sector from a third world country.

This paper seeks to sharpen the concepts of tacit, implicit and explicit knowledge by linking them to findings from cognitive psychology and memory science and thus finding a possibility for measuring non‐explicit knowledge.

A review of KM and cognitive science literature leads to a dimensional model of knowledge types that links the concepts from KM to more specific concepts from psychology. One central assumption of the model was empirically tested and put into practice in one small‐scale KM project.

The concepts in KM can be linked to concepts from psychology and thus receive theoretical support. The developed model enables psychometric access to a part of non‐explicit knowledge through structural assessment techniques. Furthermore, the model has proven to be of value in a practical application in KM.

The experiment and the practical application are too small in scope to provide full support for the model. Further research is required.

A fraction of non‐explicit knowledge can be measured with structural assessment techniques. This can be used in the quantitative evaluation of KM projects as these techniques allow the quantification of individual knowledge increase. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of individual project‐relevant knowledge is useful for post‐project analysis.

The paper integrates findings from several scientific fields for use in KM and presents a novel view of classic KM concepts. The developed model is of importance to both researchers and practitioners.

This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of organizational information technology (IT)-based and non-IT-based knowledge transfer mechanisms (KTMs) for the retention of different types of knowledge from mobile experts. It differentiates among four types of knowledge loss (KL), namely, conscious knowledge (i.e. individual explicit knowledge that can be codified); codified knowledge (i.e. explicit knowledge captured at the social level); automatic knowledge (i.e. implicit individual knowledge); and collective knowledge (i.e. implicit knowledge embedded in the organization).

A research framework connecting the organizational knowledge retention (KR) cycle to KL is developed and an exploratory analysis is conducted using data from two case studies in the Canadian federal public service. Findings are confirmed using a third government agency.

Without the right processes in place for organizational knowledge retrieval and reuse, the KR cycle is not complete, leading to KL. The lack of available social KTMs for the conversion of individual to social objectified knowledge leads to KL. KTMs shortcomings increase the risk of automatic and objectified KL.

Exploratory results demonstrate that KL does not always equate to lack of KR. Implementing knowledge-specific organizational KTMs is important to encourage the retention of individual knowledge at the social level. Propositions and a framework are developed for future research.

Mobile experts hold valuable knowledge at high risk of being lost by organizations. This paper provides managers with a set of guidelines to develop a knowledge-specific strategy focused on KTMs that increase KR and mitigate KL.

This paper challenges the assumption that KL only results from poor retention and studies both retention and loss to identify additional types of unintentional loss that occur when individual knowledge is not converted to social knowledge.

This study seeks to contribute to understanding of knowledge management and, specifically, knowledge sharing in the public sector through a case study‐based investigation of knowledge management policies and strategies, and knowledge‐sharing processes in four UK police forces.

Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with ten police officers in three police forces, and in the National Policing Improvement Agency. Questions focused on knowledge management strategy, strategies for encouraging staff to share and exchange knowledge, and any challenges in these areas. Interviews were recorded and transcripts created. A three‐stage thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was undertaken.

None of the case study organizations has an overarching knowledge management strategy or policy, although there is widespread recognition of the importance of intelligence and knowledge sharing to successful policing. The three police forces, supported by the National Policing Improvement Agency, do try to embody knowledge management in their strategies, processes and training methods, although it is sometimes difficult to identify relevant initiatives and practices. Forces are facing major issues in encouraging knowledge sharing as a result of the culture, the size of the force, and variable recognition of the value of knowledge management.

The study concurs with earlier work on research into knowledge management and knowledge sharing in the public sector that suggests that these processes are implicit and embedded in the culture of such organizations. This makes it challenging to “manage” knowledge in such contexts. The paper offers some insights into how knowledge is managed in the UK police force.