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Higher education research is replete with discussion of boundaries imagined as structural constraints in need of removal or circumvention. But, while foregrounding national–transnational frameworks, leadership strategising and institutional structures, the scholarship is subdued about how boundaries are actually dealt with at ground level. How do practitioners come together, day by day, across higher education boundaries; and what is required for desirable practices to be nurtured? It is on this issue, and in particular the theorisation of this issue, that this chapter will focus.

This chapter presents and develops a relational working framework, based on the work of Anne Edwards. We highlight three core concepts (common knowledge, relational expertise and relational agency), disaggregating each into constituent features. We then apply the framework to reinterpret previously published empirical studies, to demonstrate its broad applicability. We argue that the framework usefully conceptualises how practitioners work with others across boundaries; that it helps us to notice how many boundaries are, in fact, routinely permeated; and that it usefully highlights important aspects of local practices that are easily obscured.

Taking a social network perspective, the purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for the assurance of food safety via relational networking.

The authors consider both informal and formal relational networking, and explore a firm’s learning orientation, risk aversion and consumer pressure as potential precursors to such relational networking. It is further hypothesized that relational networking generates both industry and supply chain knowledge, which is suggested to be beneficial for contamination detection. The model is tested with survey data collected among food-producing firms in India, the world’s second largest food producer.

The authors find a positive influence of consumer pressure on both a firm’s learning orientation and risk aversion, which in turn affect both informal and formal relational networking. Informal networking further generated industry knowledge and was beneficial for contamination detection. Formal relational networking influenced supply chain knowledge, which in turn enabled contamination detection.

Recent food product-related safety breaches, which have, in the worst case, led to fatalities, illustrate the importance of food safety in supply chains. This study represents the first systematic investigation of relational networking in the context of food safety from the perspective of social network theory.

Previous studies have examined the emotional mechanism between perceived overqualification and knowledge hiding. Based on a relational perspective, this study aims to draw on social comparison theory to reveal the cognitive mechanism of perceived overqualification on knowledge hiding, along with the mediating effect of relational identification. This research conceptualizes perceived overqualification differentiation and reveals the moderating effect of perceived overqualification differentiation on strengthening the link between perceived overqualification and knowledge hiding.

This paper conducts two times lagged research, addresses a sample of 216 employees nested in 47 groups from technology or R&D industries and uses structural equation modeling to test an original model.

The results show that perceived overqualification positively affects knowledge hiding; relational identification mediates this relationship; perceived overqualification differentiation moderates the effect of perceived overqualification on relational identification as well the indirect effect of perceived overqualification on knowledge hiding via relational identification.

This paper shows the cognitive mechanism of perceived overqualification on knowledge hiding. Moreover, this study also extends current perceived overqualification literature from a single individual level/a dyad level to a complex team level by conceptualizing the perceived overqualification differentiation. The research findings are helpful to guide team talent management and knowledge management in business management practice.

The study investigated the effects of relational leadership on hotel employees' creativity, using knowledge-sharing behaviour and leader–follower dyadic tenure as intervening variables.

A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 355 employees of authorized hotels from the conurbation of Cape Coast and Elmina in Ghana. To evaluate the study's research hypotheses, the authors used WarpPLS and PLS-SEM.

The findings demonstrated that while knowledge-sharing behaviour did not directly affect employee creativity, it did have a significant mediating effect on the link between relational leadership and the creativity of employees. The study also revealed that the ability of relational leaders to drive knowledge-sharing behaviour was not contingent on leader–follower dyadic tenure.

The results of this study have practical relevance for human resource practitioners in the hospitality industry. Given that relational leadership has a positive relationship with employee creativity, the authors recommend that hotel supervisors relate well with employees by sharing valuable information and respecting their opinions in decision-making.

Studies on the role of relational leadership and employee creativity are scanty. This study develops a model to explain how relational leadership could influence employee creativity by incorporating knowledge-sharing behaviour and leader–follower dyadic tenure.

The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of relational mechanisms and market contracts on cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain and to examine the role of market contracts. Relational mechanism is categorized into indirect and direct relational mechanism in this paper. Cross‐enterprise knowledge trading is categorized into explicit and tacit knowledge trading. The indirect relational mechanism is mainly expressed by knowledge brokers, while the direct relational mechanism consists of shared goals and trust.

Multiple regression analysis was performed on questionnaire data from 256 Chinese manufacturing enterprises in supply chain in order to assess the relationships between relational mechanisms, market contracts and cross‐enterprise knowledge trading.

The results show that knowledge brokers and market contracts have significant and positive effects on explicit knowledge trading, but the effects on tacit knowledge trading are not significant. Shared goals and trust have significant and positive effects not only on explicit knowledge trading but also on tacit knowledge trading, while trust has a stronger positive effect on tacit knowledge trading than explicit knowledge trading. Finally, the moderating effects of market contracts are proven in the relationships between relational mechanisms and knowledge trading, excluding the relationship between knowledge brokers and tacit knowledge trading.

Previous studies about the cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain focused on theoretical research which did not match with reality, especially in China, where the relational mechanism in trading activities is strong. Based on relational exchange theory and transaction cost theory, a conceptual model for the effects of relational mechanisms and market contracts on cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain is proposed in this paper, and then empirically tested using the data collected from 256 Chinese manufacturing enterprises in supply chain with multiple regression models. The findings provide a theoretical basis for knowledge trading participants selecting an appropriate governance mechanism to promote knowledge trading, and these also guide the knowledge trading among members of supply chain in practice.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between absorptive capacity, relational capital and interorganizational relationship performance and examine the moderating effect of contractual governance on this relationship.

This study used a quantitative design, analyzing data collected through a survey questionnaire. The sampling frame consisted of 111 cross-industry, small and medium-sized manufacturers in Malaysia. The research model was analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results show that interorganizational relationship performance is positively influenced by relational capital and absorptive capacity. While absorptive capacity has a positive effect on relational capital, this study finds empirical evidence that contractual governance weakens the effect of absorptive capacity on relational capital. Furthermore, this study also examines the hitherto under-researched moderating effect of contractual government on absorptive capacity and relational capital and their relationship with interorganizational relationship performance.

This study provides insights into the interorganizational relationship among SMEs and explains the nature of knowledge management in this context. This study shows the potential role of absorptive capacity in building close cross-border interorganizational relationships.

This study aims to investigate the key roles of human and relational capital in the export orientation and competitiveness of knowledge-intensive cooperative companies. It is also aimed to examine the moderating role of marketing knowledge capabilities.

Data from 552 managers at 86 companies, selected from knowledge-intensive export cooperatives, were analyzed with structural equation modeling with the partial least squares approach.

Results indicate that both human and relational capital exert considerable effects on competitiveness. Export orientation was a driving factor for cooperatives’ competitiveness. Human and relational capital fostered the effects of export orientation on competitiveness. Moreover, marketing knowledge capabilities were found to moderate the relationships between human and relational capital and export orientation, as well as between export orientation and competitiveness.

By highlighting the role of human capital and relational capital in export orientation and competitiveness, this study offers an analysis of important managerial processes within cooperative companies, which have not been sufficiently addressed in previous research. This research also demonstrated the moderating role of marketing knowledge capabilities in strengthening relationships between human and relational capital and export orientation, as well as between export orientation and competitiveness, which has been neglected in previous studies. These findings provide academics and practitioners with a new framework for examining the relationships between these constructs, which will enable them to establish strategies for achieving a competitive advantage.

This study aims to fill the research gap on the moderating effect of leadership empowerment on the relationship between relational capital and firms' innovation performance in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by addressing the following research questions: (1) How do different types of relational capital positively or negatively affect firms' innovation performance in China? (2) Does leadership empowerment play a moderating role in the above relationship?

Using data derived from the firms distributed in eastern, central and western China, the authors study the impact of relational capital, one of the dimensions of intellectual capital, on firms' innovation performance in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Based on firms' operation process regarding the relationships with their external stakeholders, the authors divided relational capital into three aspects: trust, reciprocity and transparency. Furthermore, leadership empowerment is taken as the moderating variable in the above theoretical relationship.

There is significant evidence that trust, reciprocity and transparency have positive impact on firms' innovation performance. Leadership empowerment positively moderates the impact of trust and reciprocity on innovation performance. However, there is no significant moderating effect of leadership empowerment on the relationship between transparency and innovation performance.

In the era of the knowledge economy, the entrepreneurial ecosystem is a critical foundation for firms to improve their innovation capacity and performance, and intellectual capital is one of the most imperative drivers in terms of firms' innovation performance. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated thoroughly concerning the relationships among the entrepreneurial ecosystem, intellectual capital and innovation performance. As this study explores the relationships among the above three factors, it may have profound theoretical and practical significance for firms to extent external relationship networks, improve their innovation performance and strengthen their core competencies, which is of great significance to facilitate the construction of entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The purpose of this paper is to explore that relational capability plays a mediator role in the relationship between focal enterprises' control on knowledge transfer risks in R&D network.

The paper reviews the related literature from which it proposes a theoretical hypothesis and conceptual framework which is tested empirically adopting regression methodology by mathematical statistics software.

The results reveal that focal enterprises' control (core technological capability and network position) have a positive effect on knowledge transfer risks without the mediation of relational capability. Moreover, relational capability mediates the positive relationship between core technological capability and knowledge transfer risks.

The cross-sectional data of this research has difficult in testing causality between the variables, and future research should take account of the potential factors that can impact on knowledge transfer risks.

The results provide more valuable information to managers in alleviating knowledge transfer risks in R&D networks. For one thing, the study indicates how focal firms' control (core technological capability and network position) can be taken advantage of improving R&D efficiency and reducing the knowledge transfer risks. For another, the results emphasize that relational capability plays an important role in interacting with cooperative enterprises in the process of R&D activities.

Few studies present a theoretical discussion on focal firms control as the important determinants of knowledge transfer risks especially in the R&D network. Moreover it expands the related risk management theory by relational capability that mediates the relationship between focal firms control and knowledge transfer risks.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of two dimensions of relational risks, namely, opportunism behavior and interest conflict, on knowledge flow and to explore the moderating effect of network power among these untested relationships and to examine the positive effect of opportunism behavior and interest conflict.

This paper adopts survey data collected from 180 enterprises in China's high-technology industry and examines the relationship between relational risks, network power and knowledge flow.

This research empirically shows that opportunism behavior and interest conflict significantly and negatively impact on knowledge flow. Those relationships are positively moderated by network power.

To be more generalized to the high-technology industry, future research should adopt the quantitative research, which can obtain more comprehensive information to explore the nature of phenomenon. The future research can also combine with other variables. In addition, this research extends the current literature by investigating the relationship of so far understudied theorized antecedents.

This research enriches the related network perspective literature by providing new insight combining relational risks and knowledge flow. Especially, the moderating effect of network power is empirically examined.