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This paper aims to explore the relationship between the types of R&D‐activities within science‐based firms and the knowledge transfer channels used for industry‐science collaboration. Rooted in a contingency approach, it seeks to identify patterns in the organization of knowledge transfer and to disclose ways that may support R&D‐managers in achieving effective knowledge transfer.

The paper is an exploratory study in order to obtain a deep understanding of the relationship. At first, both the types of R&D‐activity and the knowledge transfer channels were conceptualized based on an extensive literature review. Second, data were collected by means of semi‐structured interviews with 17 (assistant) R&D‐managers of ten large European chemical firms.

The analysis suggests that almost each of the knowledge transfer channels used for industry‐science collaboration has a more or less unique link to a specific type of R&D‐activity. An empirically based model is developed that visualizes the linkages. In addition, explanations for observed links are proposed.

The empirical analysis reported focuses on multinational firms in the science‐based European chemical industry, because they invest heavily in R&D and are hence more interested in collaboration with scientific partners. Further research is needed to determine the model's applicability in other empirical settings, both within and outside science‐based industries.

The paper provides R&D‐managers with a model that may support them in deciding how to organize their collaboration with scientific partners based on the type of their internal R&D‐activity to achieve effective knowledge transfer.

The paper is one of the first studies that empirically assesses the relationship between the types of R&D‐activities in firms and the knowledge transfer channels that are used for industry‐science collaboration.

A corporate university is a knowledge management institution established within an enterprise. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the evolution of knowledge activities of corporate university and their relationship, particularly the role of networking in the knowledge management.

Haier, which had the earliest Chinese corporate university in the science and technology manufacturing industry, was employed as a case study. Data were collected by interviews and through consulting the documents of Haier’s corporate university. Grounded theory was used for data analysis.

The paper finds that corporate universities are engaged in three kinds of activities, namely, enterprise operational knowledge transfer, networking activities and scientific and technological activities. There is a dynamic circular relationship among these three kinds of activities, which form a “figure of eight” cycle model. Networking activities are the hub between enterprise operational knowledge transfer and scientific and technological activities. There is a two-way integration of enterprise operational knowledge transfer and science and technological activities via networking activities. Networking activities, thus, play a key role in the development of corporate universities into knowledge management centers. The scope of the key activities of corporate universities is dynamic and expanding. The double circulation effect among key activities in corporate universities has strengthened over time.

By investigating the dynamic nature of the activities of corporate universities, particularly the role of networking in knowledge management, this research enriches the study of the knowledge management of corporate universities.

This article explores whether six broad categories of activities undertaken by Canadian business scholars’ academics: publications record, citations record, teaching load, administrative load, consulting activities, and knowledge spillovers transfer, are complementary, substitute, or independent, as well as the conditions under which complementarities, substitution and independence among these activities are likely to occur.

A multivariate probit model is estimated to take into account that business scholars have to consider simultaneously whether or not to undertake many different academic activities. Metrics from Google Scholar of scholars from 35 Canadian business schools, augmented by a survey data on factors explaining the productivity and impact performances of these faculty members, are used to explain the heterogeneities between the determinants of these activities.

Overall, the results reveal that there are complementarities between publications and citations, publications and knowledge spillovers transfer, citations and consulting, and between consulting and knowledge spillovers transfer. The results also suggest that there are substitution effects between publications and teaching, publications and administrative load, citations and teaching load, and teaching load and administrative load. Moreover, results show that public and private funding, business schools’ reputation, scholar’s relational resources, and business school size are among the most influential variables on the scholar’s portfolio of activities.

This study considers simultaneously the scholar’s whole portfolio of activities. Moreover, the determinants considered in this study to explain scholars’ engagement in different activities reconcile two conflicting perspectives: (1) the traditional self-managed approach of academics, and (2) the outcomes-focused approach of university management.

A distinction is made between information retrieval and knowledge transfer, in terms of which the latter activity assumes a much greater degree of conceptual organization. It is argued that the current generation of on‐line information‐retrieval systems must evolve into so‐called ‘second generation’ systems that will support the more demanding requirements for knowledge instead of information. It appears that the man/machine interactive inquiry systems characteristic of today's on‐line activities can form a good basis for knowledge transfer, and an approach is described in which the LEADERMART information system is used as the platform for a knowledge‐transfer system. A model is described for the on‐line management and transfer of problem‐solving knowledge. Several ways in which information flow can be converted to knowledge‐transfer activities are explored, although there appears to be no unique paradigm for this conversion. Instead, knowledge transfer is explicated in terms of enhancements to on‐line retrieval manipulations, featuring an ever increasing emphasis on such direct forms of information transfer as numerical data retrieval and the retrieval of answer‐indicating passages. A new question‐analyzing procedure, QUANSY, is described which functions with another new technique for information regeneration to provide a start toward genuine knowledge transfer.

This paper aims to study the challenge of transferring knowledge among product development processes of an research and development department and other departments of the organization. To have a more concise focus on this broad field and having a lean perspective, this paper aims to analyse and identify how the cross-training employee lean tool affects the knowledge transfer processes in the previously mentioned departments.

This paper bases its research on a valid theoretical framework which is built to develop an explorative perspective that allows the authors to create and interpret the data collected from the companies through interviews. The paper uses a qualitative perspective by using the expertise of the companies not only to validate and draw conclusions from the studied theoretical framework but also to look beyond it.

The companies agree that the implementation of the cross-training employee lean tool will have a positive effect on the knowledge transfer processes in the organizations. Other important advantages that are detected are that this lean tool broadens the knowledge and the competences of employees, and that it helps the company to manage the tacit knowledge. However, some unexpected drawbacks such as the lack of metrics for measuring the knowledge transfer and the strictness of this lean tool were also found.

No previous research exists that analyses the effect of cross-training lean tool in knowledge transfer processes. This paper identifies such a gap in the literature and is used as the starting point to motivate the use of this tool to improve knowledge transfer processes due to the positive effects of it.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of supplier development programs on the short‐term performance of suppliers and the more long‐term development of their capabilities given the relational learning context of the dyad.

Data were collected through a survey of strategic suppliers from original equipment manufacturers of the automotive industry located in Mexico.

Results suggest that basic and widely used forms of supplier development hardly lead to improved operational and financial performance of suppliers. More demanding and less frequently used forms of supplier development may lead to improved supplier performance given the suppliers have sufficient absorptive capacity and the presence of an adequate collaborative and relational learning context.

Only suppliers of firms in the automotive industry were surveyed; participant suppliers were referred by buying firms operating in Mexico.

When designing supplier development activities, buying firms need to take into consideration that high involvement and investment on supplier development activities is required when their goal is to improve the supplier base.

Governments organizing supplier development programs should consider the importance of promoting knowledge transfer activities above evaluation and feedback to assure the success of their efforts to develop the national supply industry.

The value of supplier development programs is explored in this paper, taking into account the efforts of the buying firms to transfer knowledge and the moderating effect of the relational and learning context. Relevant recommendations for the design of such programs to buyers, suppliers and government are discussed.

The objective is to determine if there are groups of subsidiaries that are different in regard to the implementation of strategies, structures, and processes and the transfer of marketing knowledge in emerging markets.

A survey with 101 largest foreign subsidiaries located in Brazil was conducted. The data collection process was conducted online and by telephone.

Three subsidiary groups based on the configuration of their international marketing activities were characterized: Cluster 1, called “Subsidiary with Knowledge Marketing Activities”; Cluster 2, called “Subsidiaries with Global Marketing Activities”; and Cluster 3, called “Subsidiaries with Local Marketing Activities.” Compared to the two other groups, Cluster 1 is the group with the minor number of companies, but it has a better strategic performance than other clusters.

This study was developed in only one emerging country, Brazil, and with 101 subsidiaries from MNCs. This could be extended to other countries, such as China, Russia, India, and Turkey and with more subsidiaries. Related to the construct measurements, one limitation is the qualitative measure of performance.

Subsidiaries that work with global marketing should pool their efforts to create and transfer marketing knowledge to improve their performance. Subsidiaries with local marketing activities may even perform more satisfactorily in the short term, but they should concern to contribute to the overall competitive edge of the corporation.

The discussion about marketing in emerging markets and the way in which the transfer of marketing knowledge can be reflected in the performance.

Knowledge sharing in research communities has been considered indispensable to progress in science. The aim of this paper is to analyze the mechanisms restricting knowledge sharing in science. It considers three categories of academia–industry knowledge transfer and a range of individual and contextual variables as possible predictors of knowledge-sharing restrictions.

A unique empirical data sample was collected based on a survey among 212 life science researchers affiliated with universities and other non-profit research institutions. A rich descriptive analysis was followed by binominal regression analysis, including relevant checks for the robustness of the results.

Researchers in academia who actively collaborate with industry are more likely to omit relevant content from publications in co-authorship with other academic researchers; delay their co-authored publications, exclude relevant content during public presentations; and deny requests for access to their unpublished and published knowledge.

This study informs policymakers that different types of knowledge-sharing restrictions are predicted by different individual and contextual factors, which suggests that policies concerning academia–industry knowledge and technology transfer should be tailored to contextual specificities.

This study contributes new predictors of knowledge-sharing restrictions to the literature on academia–industry interactions, including outcome expectations, trust and sharing climate. This study augments the knowledge management literature by separately considering the roles of various academic knowledge-transfer activities in instigating different types of knowledge-sharing restrictions in scientific research.

The purpose of this paper is to identify those organizational and personal elements that enable not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) to generate and transfer knowledge. NPOs are under pressure to use their financial and human resources efficiently, and to improve their activities and services constantly. Knowledge management as a strategy would ensure NPOs’ sustainability and rapid adaptation to dynamic environments.

A qualitative study based on interviews, documents and questionnaires was conducted in 28 Mexican NPOs.

Three main findings were identified: First, Mexican NPOs generate knowledge through courses and seminars based on volunteers’ personal motivation and organizational culture. Second, informal communication media are widely utilized to transfer organizational knowledge. Third, personal commitment to the organization’s mission and trust in their colleagues’ social actions are crucial for knowledge transfer effectiveness, rather than organizational elements.

Results scope of this study is limited to the NPOs under study. The findings expose some highlights for knowledge management process in NPOs in Mexico which would be tested in further research.

Contrary to knowledge management in profit organizations, NPOs must recognize that personal motivation, commitment and trust in organization’s mission and social actions are crucial rather than organizational culture and top management support.

NPOs must convert their tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, which allows NPOs to be transparent and effective, and to have access to more funding opportunities and to replicate their best practices throughout the organization.

There are only few studies of knowledge management processes in NPOs. Some considerations have to be done with respect to personal motivation, commitment and trust, as well as organizational elements.

To date, it remains unclear whether the experiences of large corporations with regard to knowledge transfer and process formalization can be successfully replicated in small companies. In this paper, the authors seek to contribute to the specialized literature on internal knowledge transfer processes and their degree of formalization in the context of small-sized innovative firms.

The authors adopt a multiple case study approach to perform an in-depth comparative analysis of processes deployed to transfer knowledge internally and their degree of formalization, relying on rich narratives shared by informants during the data gathering stage. This sample is composed of five small innovators operating in the software industry in Quebec and Ontario.

The authors identify seven knowledge transfer processes in our sample, namely communities of practice, within project teams, across project teams, non-project related meetings, in-house exchanges with clients, technological devices, and playful activities. Uncovering a high cross-case variation in terms of process formalization, the findings imply that the degree of formalization of intra-firm knowledge transfer processes has no direct bearing on the innovative success of small software companies.

The study sheds new light on the topic of heterogeneity of small organizations from the perspective of knowledge transfer endeavors and provides empirical evidence in support of equifinality for a subset of small-sized innovators from the software sector.