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This paper investigates how symmetrical learning activity is, between the public client and the private contractor in the contracting and operation of complex, long-term infrastructure projects. Drawing on empirical material from two United Kingdom (UK) private finance initiative (PFI) cases, the paper analyses differences in the absorptive capacity and learning capability between parties. It suggests the private contractor appears to be better equipped to acquire, embed and renew their learning. These findings reflect less than 5 years of a 30-year contract, suggesting a skewed (imbalanced) relationship, where the contractor gains more learning capabilities than the client. The paper concludes with implications for management practice and suggestions for future research directions.

While the importance of interorganizational learning (IOL) as a resource for strategic renewal has been acknowledged in research, limited attention has been placed on exploring IOL in complex networks or ecosystems. This paper aims to bridge this gap in literature through conceptualizing IOL in the tourism industry at the micro, meso and macro levels of the ecosystem.

This paper applies a narrative literature review to explore the tourism industry and IOL. Through insights which evolved from literature, exploratory typologies and propositions were developed forming the basis of the multi-level typology of interorganizational learning in the tourism industry.

Based on the multi-level typology of interorganizational learning in the tourism industry, market actors may develop in isolation, in clusters or networks, with the aggregate output of these formations constituting the basis of the tourism ecosystem. Within the multi-layers of the tourism ecosystem, IOL may be subdivided into seven distinct typologies, with learning ranging from active, passive, interactive to asymmetric. Each typology of IOL is subsequently influenced by relational ties, which may range from collaborative to competitive, and power distribution, which may lead to symmetric or asymmetric relationships.

The novelty of this paper lies in an ecosystem perspective of IOL in the tourism industry, outlining the multi-level nature of IOL in a destination.

This paper is the first to present empirical evidence consistent with models of signaling through unemployment and to uncover a new stylized fact using the 1988–2006 Displaced Worker Supplement (DWS) of the Current Population Survey (CPS), namely that, among white-collar workers, post-displacement earnings fall less rapidly with unemployment spells for layoffs than for plant closings. Because high-productivity workers are more likely to be recalled than low-productivity ones, they may choose to signal their productivity though unemployment, in which case the duration of unemployment may be positively related to post-displacement wages. Identification is done using workers whose plant closed as they cannot be recalled, and no incentives to signal arise.

This chapter studies the negative signals associated with nonpromotion. I first show theoretically that, when workers' productivity rises little with additional years on the same job level, the negative signal associated with nonpromotion leads to wage decreases. On the other hand, when additional job-level tenure leads to a sizable increase in productivity, workers' wages increase. I then test my model's predictions using the personnel records from a large US firm from 1970–1988. I find a clear hump-shaped wage-job-tenure profile for workers who stay at the same job level, which supports my model's prediction.

This study aims to explore how absorptive and joint learning can foster radical innovation. Furthermore, dependence asymmetry is investigated as a moderator of the effects of these factors on radical innovation. Radical innovation is an important source of any firm’s success. Yet, there has been a dearth of research in the literature on how different types of inter-partner learning cultivate the process of generating such innovation.

The authors use a sample of 204 Taiwanese electronics suppliers to test the effects of joint learning and absorptive learning on radical innovation. The empirical analysis adopts a structural equations modeling approach.

The authors find that a supplier’s joint learning has a stronger effect on radical innovation than its absorptive learning. However, when accounting for the moderating effect of dependence asymmetry, the analysis shows that absorptive learning does have a significant effect on radical innovation. The effect of joint learning on radical innovation is not moderated by the degree of dependence asymmetry.

This study broadens and deepens the understanding of how radical innovation by suppliers can be generated in customer–supplier relationships, and how this is shaped by the power-dependence structure.

Inter-partner learning; radical innovation; power; dependence.

This chapter develops an on-going theory of coopetition management in knowledge-based industries. Coopetition is a strategy which combines simultaneously competitive and collaborative relationships. This combination permits companies to benefit from both the advantages of the competition and the advantage of collaboration. However, this strategy is also risky in case of unintended spillovers and technology plunders. Companies have to manage the coopetitive risk by implementing three principles of coopetition management: the separation principle, the integration principle, and the co-management principle.

This chapter highlights and examines the journey of strategic alliances, how alliances lead to the creation of new alliances, and whether alliances succeed or precede firms' market networks. Moreover, the chapter attempts to identify the market and environmental factors which impact the journey and the end result of alliances. The findings show that before the alliance and in the early strategic alliance phase, firms can have direct and indirect relationships/networks which can lead to the formation of strategic alliances. The other finding is that one of the main factors which determines the journey of strategic alliances is the degree of internationalization of the firm and the market. The journey of alliances was also found to be different in the various groups of Eastern and Central Europe (ECE) countries depending on the pace or degree of adaptation of those countries. It was also found that well-developed networks have a positive impact on the alliance results. Moreover, the chapter also provides evidence that alliances enable firms to defend and strengthen existing networks to build new networks and to penetrate partners' networks. It is finally observed that it is difficult to determine whether alliances succeed or precede networks.

This paper aims to study the impact of the interactive effect of knowledge characteristics – tacitness, specificity and availability – and resource structure – complementarily and asymmetric – on learning race behavior among international joint venture (IJV) partners in China.

Preliminary in-depth interviews with three IJV managers were conducted to develop and evaluate the tentatively developed questionnaire. The finalized survey questionnaire was distributed to middle and top-level managers of IJVs, resulting in a total of 124 usable surveys. The psychometric properties of data were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis and hypotheses were tested using a generalized linear model.

The results show that partners in IJV have low tendencies to acquire tacit and specific knowledge, but, when the resource is complementary, it stimulates the learning race. Also, when resources are asymmetric, IJV partners engage in the learning race more aggressively, particularly for highly specific knowledge. The situation reverses for highly available knowledge.

The findings provide important insights for both researchers and managers on knowledge characteristics and resource structure influencing learning race behavior. This insight allows firms to leverage features of knowledge and resource conditions to prevent or facilitate the learning race for either common or private interests.

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the impact of asymmetric warfare on the military profession within the context of the Ottoman period. These effects are categorized with strategic, structural, and behavioral dimensions. The Ottoman military had been a part of many unconventional/asymmetric conflicts during the Ottoman era. These experiences are showing clearly that classical officer training system is not providing necessary knowledge to command units under this type of atmosphere.

The historical event analysis is used for the methodological purpose.

First finding is that asymmetry of method, technology; morale, norms, and organization were observable during the Ottoman collapse period. Second, the reactions to the asymmetric threats were conventional at first sight. Third, the solutions were found by the officers individually not through systemic attempts and they were the results of lessons learned from personal faults. In this chapter, the Ottoman period and military was considered with the viewpoints of recent definitions of asymmetric warfare.