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Based on the growing interest devoted to knowledge management (KM) in inter-organizational contexts, the purpose of this paper is to systematize existing literature and understand how it developed over time, thus tracing its roots and evolution to unveil gaps and suggest new promising areas for future research.

This study used bibliographic techniques to analyze a sample of 85 studies along three main periods (1998-2010, 2011-2014 and 2015-2019). In particular, this study focused on co-occurrences of keywords to identify the most dominant themes, as well as connections among these themes.

Overall, the review shows the main outlets that have published papers on the topic of KM in inter-organizational contexts, as well as the theoretical background this research builds on. The temporal analysis exhibits the core topics that have persisted and grown consistently over time as the links between KM, innovation and networks. In addition, the review highlights new emerging themes, such as the human and social side of KM, and new interesting contexts of study (e.g. coopetition and open/user innovation), which opens exciting avenues for new research opportunities.

This study illustrates the conceptual structure of the field in three distinct periods and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the key topics and their interrelatedness within the area of KM in inter-organizational contexts. Both researchers and practitioners can profit from the study because it reveals consolidated topics while identifying areas that still need to be investigated to foster KM in inter-organizational settings.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This study aims to investigate the risks associated with managing the dispersed knowledge in inter-organizational arrangements for innovation. Specifically, it proposes a model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, applied in four steps.

Initially, the authors carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) on the concepts that connect knowledge management, inter-organizational arrangements for innovation and risks. The SLR results led to a complementary theoretical review on the conceptual elements in question. Based on the findings, the authors have developed a model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, which was validated by experts. It was then studied the case of GOL Airlines, a company that uses innovation to overcome the paradox between low-cost and full service in the commercial air transportation industry, considering the application and adjustment of the proposed model.

Open innovation is one of the inter-organizational arrangement types most applied in the context of innovation. Relations between agents are the primary sources of risks when managing the dispersed knowledge in these arrangements. The authors have found five main risks associated, namely, risk of the innovative effort does not reach the expected objective, risk of knowledge transfer being ineffective, risk of misappropriation of value, risk of dependency (lock-in) and risk of relations.

The practical implication is the proposition of a procedure for applying the model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, which makes it a prescriptive model for identifying risks. The proposed model is described in four steps, namely, to identify the agents in the environment of the value of open innovation; to identify the types of relations of each agent; to consider the barriers to knowledge management in innovation; and to assess the risks considering the possibilities derived from the agents, their relationships and the barriers. The model is applied in the GOL case and the results are presented.

First, it uses a novel approach to investigate open innovation while studying its risks. This approach considers the knowledge is dispersed and flows from one organization to another through a combination of relations inside the environment of value where the open innovation materializes. Second, it contributes to theory development by opening a research front that fuses four areas: risk management, knowledge management, innovation and inter-organizational arrangements. Third, this paper proposes a theoretical model and presents its operationalization. The study aims to make an impact beyond academia and uses a case study to illustrate the model application in a real and interesting open innovation project to support the business model at GOL Airlines.

Despite growth in use of inter-organisational relationships for knowledge co-creation, many collaborations struggle to realise the synergistic benefits of these networks. This paper aims to explore the evolving dialectic tensions evident within an inter-organisational relationship and the governance consideration to optimise the knowledge process.

A longitudinal case of a university-industry knowledge network is selected for study. The single case analysis aligns with the dialectical epistemology, which dismisses the expectation of homogeny or constancy across network cases.

The research highlights the circular condition between dialectic tensions evident within inter-organisational relations and the governance mechanisms developed to synthesis the network knowledge discovery capability. The research shows that these tensions are a natural part of the network existence and often advantageous to knowledge creation. The research also highlights that governance is required at multiple levels within the network entity to optimise knowledge exchange and discovery.

The research adds to the limited application of dialectical thinking to inter-organisational networks. It highlights the structural and relational governance mechanisms that interplay to optimise their knowledge process capability. The research also highlights the multiple levels within networks at which tensions can originate, requiring knowledge governance at the micro, meso and macro level to address the complexity of the inter-organisational relationship. This research provides a better understanding of how knowledge within inter-organisational relations can be managed for mutual benefit and value creation.

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the empirical literature on inter‐organizational R&D collaborations in order to highlight the tendencies in research methodologies so far and to identify possible future research directions.

The literature review is based on a bibliographical search of a number of academic search engines. These sources include all the major management, organizational behavior, marketing, engineering, sociology, and psychology journals, thus ensuring a thorough search on the topic of inter‐organizational R&D. The review includes papers from 1995 to 2010.

The main focus of research on inter‐organizational R&D is on innovation performance enablers, organizational and coordination aspects, and knowledge exchange. The vast majority of which is based on snapshot studies at the management or firm level of analysis that leave open questions regarding the actual inter‐organizational innovation practices. To fill the gap evidenced in the literature, the author concludes that longitudinal qualitative micro‐level research would help to expand existing knowledge on the practices in inter‐organizational R&D.

The paper proposes a practice‐based research framework for future studies of inter‐organizational R&D, in order to gain a better understanding of the social dynamics of such collaborations.

This paper focuses on empirical research in the area of inter‐organizational R&D, and links the methodological approaches used to the limitations in the knowledge base of the topic.

The vast majority of evidence about knowledge management (KM) is based on studies within a mass‐producing context and at intra‐organizational level. Little has been reported in the complex products and systems (CoPS) literature about KM processes across firm boundaries. To contribute to this gap, this paper reviews the literature of CoPS, inter‐organizational collaboration and KM, discusses some challenges of inter‐organization KM faced by CoPS manufacturers, and explores a research framework which is helpful to provide a preliminary understanding of inter‐organizational KM within a CoPS context.

Literature review and research experience are presented.

The study has identified some challenges faced by CoPS manufacturers when they try to manage knowledge from an innovative network, and developed a framework extending KM processes into an inter‐firm collaborative network for CoPS development. Both, project level collaboration and firm level linkages need to be taken into consideration when attempting to implement KM at inter‐organizational level. Knowledge acquisition from network, knowledge integration, and knowledge sharing in the network are the main inter‐organizational KM activities in a CoPS context.

As KM based on inter‐organizational collaboration has received little attention in prior studies, especially in CoPS conditions, this study is an exploratory discussion of KM issues within a CoPS context, combining the cross‐school theories of inter‐organizational linkages, KM and CoPS innovation. This paper tries to account for knowledge‐related activities involved in CoPS development, identifying some challenges in CoPS innovation.

The dynamism of new economy requires information professionals not only to create knowledge quickly but also to acquire and apply knowledge through knowledge sharing (KS). So, determining factors that may influence knowledge sharing within an organization or among organizations has become an important area of research. This paper aims to review determinant factors influencing inter- and intra-organizational knowledge sharing in order to offer a framework.

The present paper proceeds in three phases. In the first phase, the published literature on knowledge sharing has been reviewed extensively with consideration of their empirical applications. Next, based on the understanding gained from the previous stage, a conceptual framework of successful factors for effective inter-organizational knowledge sharing has been proposed. In the third phase, the proposed framework has been developed and finalized towards its maturity.

Based on the literature, the authors have developed a framework for understanding factors which influence inter-organizational knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing among organizations appears theoretically sound, but it is a difficult task due to some complexities.

This paper attempts to set a theoretical framework for inter-organizational knowledge sharing as a foundation to address the gap in current literature though it does not claim to be comprehensive.

A few attempts have been made to investigate success factors for inter-organizational knowledge sharing empirically or even theoretically, but this is the first of its kind that provides a theoretical framework to arrange success factors for the knowledge sharing based on inter-organizational collaborations. It serves as a useful starting point for those interested in knowledge management (KM). So it can serve as a roadmap of significant knowledge sharing research for researchers, designers and managers considering their options for fostering KM.

The chapter reflects on the coopetition concept and its role in combining cooperation and competition with a paradoxical situation between them. Likewise, it illustrates how coopetition gains a mutual advantage for the collaborative relationship of value creation, new product development (NPD), knowledge acquisition, and organizational performance in inter-organizations. However, it is necessary to build a friendly approach and proper management to ensure effective coopetition. The rationale, though, is the following: coopetition defines innovation performance; coopetition represents knowledge recombination in both inter-organizational and intra-organizational conditions; the coopetition outcomes state knowledge creation and firm’s innovation that lead to new ideas and new variations improving organizational relationships. At the same time, it is highlighted how the customer relationships are aligned in the enterprises and how knowledge transfer in different alliances influence dynamic and complex character exploring tacit and explicit knowledge. As far as knowledge is concerned in an organization, it illustrates the contribution of two essential elements in coopetition value creation, i.e., knowledge management and intellectual capital. By critically evaluating the following, we encourage coopetition and innovation to recognize knowledge and increase the performance of inter-organizational units. Moreover, the primary way for knowledge assessment in organizations is by collaboration with the competitors. Concluding, our theoretical approach acknowledges that knowledge sharing enables more efficient innovation by linking R&D efforts.

The main purposes of this study are to develop a knowledge governance mechanism-fit-barrier matrix mode to resolve transfer problems resulting from knowledge characteristics and to clarify the relationship among knowledge characteristics, barriers of knowledge transfer, and effective knowledge transfer in inter-organizational contexts.

The vast literature on knowledge transfer in inter-organizational context has been reviewed. Moreover, to develop a theoretical framework, the authors developed a set of arguments based on literature pertaining to the knowledge-based view of knowledge characteristics and barriers and the response of network to inter-organizational knowledge transfer.

Knowledge-based view of knowledge characteristics and barriers and knowledge governance may provide a new understanding for network organizations seeking effective knowledge transfer strategies in inter-organizational context.

The main contribution to organizational theory is extending information-processing theory to form a new strategic model for inter-organizational knowledge transfer.

The fit model of governance mechanisms may help managers to make effective strategies for inter-organizational knowledge transfer.

Theoretically, this paper extends Information Processing Theory to inter-organizational relationships research. The developed model here also helps to explain the importance of cognitive dimensions for successful inter-organizational knowledge transfer. In KM practice, the proposed well-developed strategic models may help managers to link inter-organizational knowledge transfer processes to business strategy, and validate of the way to convert the goal of making their network organizations more intelligent into a strategic action.