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1 – 10 of over 25000Rosileia Milagres and Ana Burcharth
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on knowledge transfer in interorganizational partnerships. The aim is to assess the advances in this field by addressing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on knowledge transfer in interorganizational partnerships. The aim is to assess the advances in this field by addressing the questions: What factors impact knowledge transfer in interorganizational partnerships? How do these factors interact with each other?
Design/methodology/approach
The study reports results of a literature review conducted in ten top journals between 2000 and 2017 in the fields of strategy and innovation studies.
Findings
The review identifies three overarching themes, which were organized according to 14 research questions. The first theme discusses knowledge in itself and elaborates on aspects of its attributes. The second theme presents the factors that influence interorganizational knowledge transfer at the macroeconomic, interorganizational, organizational and individual levels. The third theme focuses on the consequences, namely, effectiveness and organizational performance.
Practical implications
Partnership managers may improve and adjust contracts, structures, processes and routines, as well as build support mechanisms and incentives to guarantee effectiveness in knowledge transfer in partnerships.
Originality/value
The study proposes a novel theoretical framework that links antecedents, process and outcomes of knowledge transfer in interorganizational partnerships, while also identifying aspects that are either less well researched or contested and thereby suggesting directions for future research.
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Tsang-Kai Hung, Mu Tian and Shih-Liang Lee
The purpose of this research is to explore how knowledge source and knowledge recipient influence knowledge transfer performance through political skill and partnership quality…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore how knowledge source and knowledge recipient influence knowledge transfer performance through political skill and partnership quality, and in so doing to make up for the lack of research on the political skills of knowledge sources in the process of knowledge transfer.
Design/methodology/approach
This research used paired-sample questionnaires to conduct a survey. One direct supervisor was paired with 1–4 subordinates; 224 other-reported questionnaires were sent out to supervisors and 896 self-reported questionnaires to subordinates. A total of 171 valid supervisor questionnaires and 511 valid subordinate questionnaires were collected. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze the data.
Findings
This empirical research demonstrated that knowledge sources with political skills can promote partnership quality and influence the success of knowledge transfer.
Research limitations/implications
This study was a cross-sectional design. Therefore, in our future research, self-report and non-self-report data will be collected in the process of questionnaire administration, and a multi-group questionnaire method (time/field isolation method) will be adopted to avoid having the same source of data. Supervisors and employees will be divided into different groups to collect sources, and the results from two different sources will be used to reduce the negative impact of common method variance.
Practical implications
External knowledge sources with political skills can impact recipient' knowledge transfer performance in the workplace, which means that external knowledge sources can provide the organization with innovative ideas and implementation skills.
Originality/value
The study presents a valid model that comprises the antecedents (characteristics of the source of knowledge), mediators (partnership quality), moderators (political skill) and consequences of knowledge transfer performance of firms.
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Thomas Hutzschenreuter and Julian Horstkotte
Firms at the center of an organizational network may benefit from educating and building up competencies of their partners. For that reason, centers often seek to transfer…
Abstract
Purpose
Firms at the center of an organizational network may benefit from educating and building up competencies of their partners. For that reason, centers often seek to transfer knowledge from the center to partner firms. They even set up systems of inter‐organizational knowledge transfer to plan, to coordinate, and to control such transfers on a firm level instead of managing single knowledge transfer projects individually. However, little systematic attention has yet been paid to such systems on a firm level. This paper seeks to analyze the managerial mechanism to decide what knowledge to transfer to what partners.
Design/methodology/approach
To address this gap, data were gathered on nine leading multinational center firms. An explorative approach was adopted using case study research to look at the characteristics of network centers, network partners, knowledge, transfer channels, and programmes.
Findings
It was found that center firms offered knowledge transfer products to partners and set up portfolios of knowledge transfer programmes targeted at specific partner groups. There is further elaboration on fundamental decisions on the programmes' design, communication, access, and pricing.
Originality/value
The research contributes to shed light on how center firms manage knowledge transfer activities from the center to partners on the firm level and how they structure it in the form of programmes. Therefore, the paper does not focus on the management of knowledge transfer in particular partnerships or networks, but also considers interdependencies between individual knowledge transfer initiatives.
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Drew Gertner, Joanne Roberts and David Charles
This article seeks to explore the micro‐dimensions of knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs) with the aim of developing an appreciation of the personal interactions that…
Abstract
Purpose
This article seeks to explore the micro‐dimensions of knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs) with the aim of developing an appreciation of the personal interactions that facilitate the success of these university‐industry collaborations.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical evidence concerning the operation of three KTPs, collected through interviews with the key partners and the review of relevant documentary material, is analysed through the lens of the communities of practice approach to situated learning.
Findings
The analysis of three case studies provides evidence to support the value of conceptualising the process of knowledge transfer between universities and industry as one of learning taking place within communities in which the development of mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoires play important roles facilitating successful collaborations. Moreover, the analysis highlights the significance of the boundary spanning roles of the KTP partners in facilitating the knowledge transfer process through engagement in both the university and industry communities.
Research limitations/implications
By illuminating the dimensions of the inter‐personal interactions involved in the knowledge transfer process the CoPs analysis provides the foundations for recommendations to improve university‐industry KTPs, in particular, and, inter‐organisational knowledge transfer initiatives in general. A limitation of this research is its focus on the UK context. Moreover, given the exploratory nature of this study further research is required to verify the findings reported here.
Originality/value
The article makes an original empirical and conceptual contribution to understandings of university‐industry knowledge transfer collaborations.
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This chapter assesses the current research on knowledge management and adds insights from an Australian example. Knowledge management is critical to successful innovation in…
Abstract
This chapter assesses the current research on knowledge management and adds insights from an Australian example. Knowledge management is critical to successful innovation in tourism products. It is an important tool for creating successful regional organizations and ensuring competitive destinations. This chapter explores the barriers to participation in regional knowledge management networks. Topics covered include knowledge management applied in tourism settings, knowledge clusters and regional partnerships, and knowledge transfer processes, including the value of new technologies. A detailed case study of an attempt to build a knowledge network in Australia is described and generic insights noted.
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Ma Shu‐wen and Pan Wen‐an
The aim of this paper is to adopt a study framework of network embeddedness and social capital perspective, and to explore the relationship among relationship strength, knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to adopt a study framework of network embeddedness and social capital perspective, and to explore the relationship among relationship strength, knowledge integration capability and the efficiency of knowledge transfer among technology alliance.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data were acquired through a recent survey of electrical and mechanical, biopharmaceutical and chemical industries. LISREL analysis was employed to examine the impact of relationship strength and integration capability on the efficiency of knowledge transfer.
Findings
The results verify that relationship strength has a significant positive impact on cooperative knowledge transfer and external integration capability, but it cannot influence innovative knowledge and internal integration capability. The internal knowledge integration capacity has a positive influence on the external integration capacity, but the external knowledge integration does not have significant impact on the internal integration capacity. Combined with the external integration capability, relationship strength's indirect influence on cooperative knowledge transfer is greater than the direct one.
Research limitations/implications
Strengthening knowledge integration capacity is the key to improve the efficiency of knowledge transfer by taking advantage of partnerships. The enterprise should adjust the relationship strength according to the function matching of the knowledge.
Originality/value
This paper is one of very few that provide empirical evidence of the impact of relationship strength and integration capability on the performance of knowledge transfer. It provides necessary basis for the enterprise to lay out and establish the technology alliance, which the enterprise should adjust the type of union according to the characteristic of the knowledge during the process of planning the technology alliance. This paper also suggests that the enterprises should make full use of technology alliance to enhance the external integration ability.
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Drawing on recent research on communication for urban development and on new research on ’Localising the Habitat Agenda’, this article focuses on the communication aspects of…
Abstract
Drawing on recent research on communication for urban development and on new research on ’Localising the Habitat Agenda’, this article focuses on the communication aspects of transferring projects and good practices to different cultural contexts.
Communicating knowledge for the poor has been a research priority for development agencies in UK and USA for the last decade, as communicating best or good practices for achieving development has not been particularly easy or successful. In order to understand the reasons for these communication gaps, the Max Lock Centre at the University of Westminster, UK, undertook research into the complexity of the communication process, and developed methodologies to ensure the effective transfer of knowledge to differing contexts. There are two related challenges to this task. The first is the understanding that communication is a complex process involving actors and actions. The complexity of the interplay between these explains why the communication process suffers gaps that are difficult to bridge; this is why knowledge or best practices can be only communicated if certain conditions are met. The second involves finding a methodology for communicating projects and best practices to different contexts in which practices can be applied.
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Enis Elezi and Christopher Bamber
Higher education institutions possess a plethora of knowledge at the institutional, departmental and individual levels. Therefore, knowledge management plays a vital role in…
Abstract
Purpose
Higher education institutions possess a plethora of knowledge at the institutional, departmental and individual levels. Therefore, knowledge management plays a vital role in assisting partnerships to synergise knowledge and strengthen market competitiveness when working collaboratively. The purpose of this study is to identify and critically discuss the role of knowledge management concepts that support development of UK higher education partnerships. This knowledge management research was undertaken with the purpose of exploring components of behavioural constructs in assisting the development of successful partnerships between higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
This research embraces a qualitative methodology and makes use of an expert panel method to gather field data and assess the relevance, robustness and applicability of a conceptual model developed in the context of higher education partnerships. Guided by two research questions, the researchers elicited knowledge from eight experts, academics and practitioners, who had initiated and led partnership development between UK higher education institutions. The experts were invited and selected to attend the panel using the criteria of “Years of Experience in the Higher Education sector”, “Job Positions and Experiences” and the “Partnership Scope and Impact”.
Findings
Depicting in a tree analogy, the conceptual model indicates that effective knowledge management will require higher education executives, managers and practitioners to centre on nurturing “tree roots” presented as behavioural knowledge management constructs and include institutional culture, trust, absorptive capacities and communication channels. The research findings elaborate on previous research and provide a categorisation of partnership outcomes between higher education institutions, explaining that partnership outcomes can be of an “Academic”, “Marketing and Finance” or “Managerial” nature. Importantly, practical use of the model could be implemented using audit methods or benchmarking methods, whereby the categorised elements of the model are used as a criterion of assessment for audit teams.
Originality/value
The conclusion extracted experiential insights to provide guidance as to how higher education executives, managers and practitioners can make use of knowledge management behavioural constructs and activities to assist collaborative undertakings in the higher education sector. This paper provided a new, modified, knowledge management higher education partnership tree, thus giving researchers and academic practitioners a holistic viewpoint of important partnership knowledge management factors.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of knowledge transfer partnership (KTP)as a means for universities to generate and exchange knowledge to foster sustainable cities…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of knowledge transfer partnership (KTP)as a means for universities to generate and exchange knowledge to foster sustainable cities and societies.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on a series of separate yet interrelated KTPs between a university and the local authority in the North East of England, designed to enhance the environmental, social and economic performance of a large-scale urban housing procurement project.
Findings
Results from the partnerships indicate that KTPs may play a crucial role in developing capacity within local authorities tasked with creating sustainable cities and societies, whilst at the same time, enhancing skills and knowledge within the communities whom they represent and their industry partners.
Originality/value
The paper contributes an understanding as to how universities can act as a conduit for the generation and exchange of knowledge for sustainability. It presents a case study which examines how a series of KTPs can provide a useful mechanism for enhancing environmental, social and economic sustainability.
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Lyn Courtney and Neil Anderson
This paper aims to address the mechanisms of, and barriers to, knowledge transfer between Australia and China in the tertiary sector.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address the mechanisms of, and barriers to, knowledge transfer between Australia and China in the tertiary sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Individual focused interviews are conducted with one Chinese and ten Australian senior academics engaged in supervisory roles at all levels of knowledge transfer. Content and sociolinguistics analysis is conducted on the questions: How is knowledge transferred between key academic/research staff? What is the potential for commercialization of research findings between Australia and China? What role does information and communication technology (ICT) play in knowledge transfer?
Findings
Knowledge transfer between Chinese and Australian universities consists of research partnerships, collective publications, and joint degree programs. One‐way transfer of knowledge from Australia to China, rather than the desired reciprocal transfer of knowledge, appears to be most common. Barriers to bi‐directional knowledge sharing include misunderstandings surround intellectual property and cultural differences, which undermine trust between China and Australia. The participants overwhelmingly hold optimistic views about the potential of commercialization of research findings between China and Australia and report that ICT enhances communications assisted in successful knowledge transfer. However, ICT is reported to be under‐utilized because of unequal access to hardware and broadband in China as well as blocking and censorship of communication by China.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the discourse on international, intercultural and bi‐directional knowledge transfer in the tertiary sector and has implications for enhanced academic and research excellence between China and Australia. Moreover, insight into the mechanisms of successful knowledge transfer may be applicable to improve knowledge transfer between Australia and other countries.
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