Print

---

***Submission Deadline Extension to July 1, 2020 due to the Unprecedented Situation***

Journal of International Management – Journal of Knowledge ManagementSpecial Issue Proposal

Joint Call for Papers

Knowledge Management in Innovative or Complex Inter-Organizational Arrangements: How to Effectively Share, Transfer, Integrate and Apply Dispersed Knowledge

Guest Editors Teams

Journal of International Management

Journal of Knowledge Management

The complexity of the business environment has significantly increased over time. Globalization, technological innovation, new international financial flows, climate change, and social change are some of the main elements present in the administrative equation imposed on current managers (Merritt, 1974; Chakravarthy, 1997; Weber and Tarba, 2014). Recently, the corporate world has incorporated the acronym VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) that expresses the speed of change, the unpredictability of events, the multiplicity of forces, and various ways of seeing reality that respectively best describe the environment. (Bennis and Nanus, 1985).

With the most volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business environment, organizations need to look for denser strategic management tools to cope with constant change (Ambrosini and Bowman, 2009; Oliva et al., 2018). One of the administrative responses is the adoption of new organizational structures that can make organizations more efficient and effective in the face of administrative trends such as open innovation, digital transformation and global presence (Dyer and Singh, 1998; Matricano et al., 2019).

A number of companies work in different inter-organizational arrangements establishing transactions that involve sharing strategies, customers, suppliers, material resources, financial resources and other elements of common value to develop products and services. These inter-organizational arrangements seek to make the organizations involved more agile to better meet market demands in a more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business environment. Developing capabilities that enable you to read the changing demands of the business environment, propose internal change to prepare the organization, and develop products and services that meet the changing demands are the desired organizational or inter-organizational dynamic capabilities in this new context (Teece, Pisano and Shuen, 1997; Kothari, Kotabe and Murphy, 2013, Del Giudice and Maggioni, 2014; Sarala, Cooper, Junni and Tarba, 2016).

An intriguing point is to understand how these new inter-organizational arrangements promote knowledge management. Considering the knowledge management process as a set of stages of knowledge definition, acquisition, dissemination, storage, application and evaluation, it is important to understand how organizations work at each stage of knowledge management to develop new products, in product production, customer service or product distribution in the local and international context.

In this context, considering the multinational companies (MNCs) as an example of analysis, knowledge management (KM) has become one of the most important factor to allow continuous value creation (Del Giudice and Maggioni, 2014), improve customer values (Xue, 2017) and increase innovativeness (Jiménez-Jiménez, Martínez-Costa and Sanz-Valle, 2014), thus improving overall firm performances. This forced MNCs to rethink the role of KM within the organization, usually bringing it out of its functional research and development (R&D) silo with the aim at integrating it into the firm intra- and inter-organizational processes (Mudambi, 2002). As a consequence, the domain of knowledge management started to attract higher scholarly interest from the well-established international business stream of literature (e.g. Buckley, 2002), thus cross fertilizing research in the two fields of interest.

Although an effort has been directed to study the role of knowledge in the internationalization process (e.g. Martin and Salomon, 2003), the knowledge transfer among and across networks (Tallman and Chacar, 2011; Del Giudice, Maggioni & Carayannis, 2017) and the reverse knowledge transfer (RKT) between foreign subsidiary and HQ (e.g. Mudambi, Piscitello & Rabbiosi, 2014) many research gaps still exist. For example, we still know very little about the selection and application of specific KM processes that are more effective to support the international expansion (i.e. knowledge sourcing, transferring and exploiting) as well as the KM tools that are more useful for the recombination of external and internal organizational knowledge, thus improving the overall management of cross cultural knowledge that resides in culturally different host countries in which MNCs operate, that is nowadays crucial in the international arena.

Taking startups and their inter-organizational relationships as an example, considering that they are temporary organizations whose business model is based on the conception of innovation, the proposition of a solution that transforms a problem, and the scalability that is configured in the broad offer to society, it is found that they are agile organizations that generate knowledge and are dependent on knowledge to play their transformative role (Oliva and Kotabe, 2019).  In this sense, startups use the concept of open innovation to achieve their growth goals and thus, the effectiveness of dispersed knowledge management is a decisive factor (Spender et al., 2017). In the international context, the born global startups are highly demanding of knowledge about the local markets where they will operate, the compliance with the various legislations and the competences of potential innovation partner suppliers (Knight and Cavusgil, 2004; Cavusgil and Knight,2015; Yoon and Hughes, 2016).

A third example to consider is the importance of knowledge management in supply chains. Supply chain management has assumed a leading operations strategy position in the manufacturing and services sectors (Samuel, Goury, Gunasekaran and Spalanzani, 2011). Knowledge sharing increases the potential for innovation of the agents involved, production of higher quality products, cost reduction in general (Cheng and Fu, 2013). There are some theoretical gaps regarding the accumulation of knowledge and the problems of obsolescence of knowledge in production chains (Marra, Ho and Edwards, 2012).

Recommended areas of research

This is a special issue jointly organized by Journal of Knowledge Management and Journal of International Management, and urges you to develop research on various topics related to the central theme, knowledge management in various inter-organizational arrangements in the national and international contexts. Emblematic case studies, action research in large corporations, research in multinational firms, sectoral quantitative research, research in inter-organizational networks, qualitative and quantitative research in the national or international context are some examples. We welcome conceptual and empirical papers using a diverse range of methods that address topics such as the indicative themes outlined below:

General topics:

·        Knowledge management in different inter-organizational arrangements

·        Knowledge management in born global startups

·        The cultural, social, institutional, geographical or economic dimensions in knowledge management in international inter-organizational arrangements

·        Knowledge management in agile organizations

·        Knowledge management in projects with open innovation

·        Barriers, critical success factors and best practices in knowledge management in inter-organizational arrangements

·        Dispersed knowledge management in product development in inter-organizational arrangements

·        The role of the leading knowledge management company in the different inter-organizational arrangements

·        Dynamic capabilities in knowledge management in different inter-organizational arrangements

·        The stages of knowledge management in different inter-organizational arrangements

·        Risk analysis in knowledge management in different inter-organizational arrangements

·        Ethical dilemmas in knowledge management in different inter-organizational arrangements

·        The complexity of knowledge management in new product development, product production, customer service or product distribution in the local and international context

Specific topics:

·        Which are the key factors and organizational antecedents that drive knowledge sharing, seeking and transfer in Inter-Organizational Arrangements?

·        How R&D internationalization choices may be rethought in the light of the development of a systematic firm KM orientation?

·        Which KM tools should be developed by knowledge-intensive enterprises (KIEs) to transfer and integrate cross cultural knowledge?

·        How do firms manage ownership of intellectual property in inter-organizational arrangements? 

·        How the management of internal and external organizational knowledge can be exploited to develop sustainable competitive advantages?

·        Which is the link among internationalization, reverse knowledge transfer, social capital and organizational innovation within MNCs?

·        How knowledge management affects the process of internationalization of emerging markets multinational companies (EMNCs)?

·        How the sourcing of external global knowledge (i.e. from global suppliers or from specialised “innomediaries”) impact the innovation performance of MNCs?

·        How MNCs develop KM tools or processes to “protect” or “hide” relevant knowledge from competitors?

·        How firms manage the dispersed nature of knowledge for product development and how a leader firm would evolve in such an arrangement?

·        What is the role of subsidiaries in managing spatially separate knowledge sources within and across MNC organizational boundaries?

Important deadlines

Manuscript submission deadline: July 1, 2020 (earlier submission is highly encouraged);

Publication expected: by mid-2021

Author guidelines, submission and review process

This call for papers has been jointly presented on both the Journal of International Management (JIM) and in the Journal of Knowledge Management (JKM), but with two different teams of Guest Editors. The aims and the scope of this first Joint Call for Papers is to collect, on the two respective journals, a premiere and top quality set of the most cutting-edge studies and researches focusing on crucial aspects of knowledge management in international contexts. Nevertheless, even if the Call for Papers is the same on the two journals, papers dealing more specifically with formal strategies of knowledge management in national or international based contexts should be addressed for submission to the JKM, while papers involving international dimensions, including cultural, institutional, geographic, and economic (e.g. developed country vs developing country), should be instead submitted to the JIM. Submitted papers which will be considered out of fit for one journal, may be addressed from the Lead Guest Editor to the other journal, if the topics are reputed more fitting with its core aims and scope.

Manuscripts for both the Journal of International Management and the Journal of Knowledge Management are subject to a double-blind peer review process. To format the manuscripts, prospective authors are invited to consult the Journal’s guideline, which can be retrieved from the respective webpages:

Journal of International Management:  https://www.elsevier.com/journals/journal-of-international-management/1075-4253/guide-for-authors;

Journal of Knowledge Management: http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/author_guidelines.htm?id=jkmb

Manuscripts should be submitted through these web pages. Authors should select the special issue title from the drop-down menu while submitting online, in order to be considered for this special issue. Informal enquiries are valued, and can be directed to the guest editors.

Journal of International Management:

https://www.evise.com/profile/#/INTMAN/login

Journal of Knowledge Management:

https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jkm

References

Ahammad, M., Tarba, S.Y., Liu, Y., and Glaister, K. (2016). Knowledge Transfer and Cross-border Acquisition Performance:  The Impact of Cultural Distance and Employee Retention. International Business Review, 25 (1),66-75.

Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 107-136.

Ambrosini, V., and Bowman, C. (2009), “What are dynamic capabilities and are they a useful construct in strategic management?”,  International journal of management reviews, Vol. 11, No.1, pp. 29-49.

Andreeva, T. and Kianto, A. (2012). Does knowledge management really matter? Linking KM practices, competitiveness and economic performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 16(4), 617-636.

Bennis, W., Nanus, B. (1985), Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge, New York:  Harper & Row.

Buckley, P. J. (2002). Is the international business research agenda running out of steam?. Journal of international business studies, 33(2), 365-373.

Buckley, P. J., & Carter, M. J. (2002). Process and structure in knowledge management practices of British and US multinational enterprises. Journal of International Management, 8(1), 29-48.

Busenitz, L. W., & Barney, J. B. (1997). Differences between entrepreneurs and managers in large organizations: Biases and heuristics in strategic decision-making. Journal of business venturing, 12(1), 9-30.

Castaneda, D. I., Manrique, L. F., & Cuellar, S. (2018). Is organizational learning being absorbed by knowledge management? A systematic review. Journal of Knowledge Management, 22(2), 299-325.

Cavusgil, S.T. and Knight, G. A. (2015), “The born global firm: An entrepreneurial and capabilities perspective on early and rapid internationalization”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 46, pp. 3–16.

Chakravarthy, B. (1997), “A new strategy framework for coping with turbulence”, Sloan Management Review, Winter, pp. 69‐82.

Cheng, J.H. and Fu, Y.C., (2013), “Inter-organizational relationships and knowledge sharing through the relationship and institutional orientations in supply chains”, International Journal of Information Management, Vol.  33, pp. 473– 484.

Davenport, T. H., & Prusak, L. (1998). Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Harvard Business Press.

De Long, D. W., & Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management. Academy of Management Perspectives, 14(4), 113–127.

Del Giudice, M., & Maggioni, V. (2014). Managerial practices and operative directions of knowledge management within inter-firm networks: a global view. Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(5), 841-846.

Del Giudice, M., Carayannis, E. G., & Maggioni, V. (2017). Global knowledge intensive enterprises and international technology transfer: emerging perspectives from a quadruple helix environment. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 42(2), 229-235.

Du Plessis, M. (2007). The role of knowledge management in innovation. Journal of knowledge management, 11(4), 20-29.

Dyer, J. H., Singh, H. (1998), “The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 23, pp. 660-679.

Ferraris, A., Santoro, G., & Bresciani, S. (2017a). Open innovation in multinational companies' subsidiaries: the role of internal and external knowledge. European Journal of International Management, 11(4), 452-468.

Ferraris, A., Santoro, G., & Dezi, L. (2017b). How MNC’s subsidiaries may improve their innovative performance? The role of external sources and knowledge management capabilities. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(3), 540-552.

Inkinen, H. (2016). Review of empirical research on knowledge management practices and firm performance. Journal of knowledge management, 20(2), 230-257.

Jiménez-Jiménez, D., Martínez-Costa, M., & Sanz-Valle, R. (2014). Knowledge management practices for innovation: a multinational corporation’s perspective. Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 18 No. 5, pp. 905-918. 

Khan, Z., Rao-Nickolson, R., and Tarba, S. Y. (2016). Global Networks as a Mode of Balance for Exploratory Innovations in a Late Liberalizing Economy. Journal of World Business, 53 (6), 392-402.

Knight, G.A., and Cavusgil, S. T. (2004), “Innovation, organizational capabilities, and the born- global firm”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 35, pp. 124-141.

Kotabe M., Jian C., and Murray J. (2014), “Examining the complementary effect of political networking capability with absorptive capacity on the innovative performance of emerging market firms”, Journal of Management, Vol. 43 No. 4, 1131-1156.

Kotabe, M., & Kothari, T. (2016). Emerging market multinational companies’ evolutionary paths to building a competitive advantage from emerging markets to developed countries. Journal of World Business, 51(5), 729-743.

Kotabe, M., & Murray, J. Y. (2018). Global Sourcing Strategy: An Evolution in Global Production and Sourcing Rationalization. In Advances in Global Marketing (pp. 365-384). Springer, Cham.

Lahiri, S., & Kedia, B. L. (2011). Co-evolution of institutional and organizational factors in explaining offshore outsourcing. International Business Review, 20(3), 252-263.

Marra, M., Ho, W. and Edwards, J. S. (2012), Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 39, pp. 6103–6110.

Martin, X., & Salomon, R. (2003). Knowledge transfer capacity and its implications for the theory of the multinational corporation. Journal of International Business Studies, 34(4), 356-373.

Matricano, D., Candelo, E., Sorrentino, M. and Martínez-Martínez, A. (2019), "Absorbing in-bound knowledge within open innovation processes. The case of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 786-807.

Merritt, T. P. (1974), “Forecasting the future business environment— The state of the art”, Long Range Planning, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 54-62.

Mudambi, R. (2002). Knowledge management in multinational firms. Journal of International Management, 8(1), 1-9.

Mudambi, R., Piscitello, L., & Rabbiosi, L. (2014). Reverse knowledge transfer in MNEs: Subsidiary innovativeness and entry modes. Long Range Planning, 47(1-2), 49-63.

Oliva, F.L. (2014), “Knowledge management barriers, practices and maturity model”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 18 No. 6, pp. 1053-1074.

Oliva, F., Couto, M., Santos, R. and Bresciani, S. (2018), "The integration between knowledge management and dynamic capabilities in agile organizations", Management Decision, ttps://doi.org/10.1108/MD-06-2018-0670.

Oliva, F. and Kotabe, M. (2019), "Barriers, practices, methods and knowledge management tools in startups", Journal of Knowledge Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-06-2018-0361.

Samuel, K. E.; Goury, M.L.; Gunasekaran, A. and Spalanzani, A. (2011), “Knowledge management in supply chain: An empirical study from France”, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Vol. 20, pp. 283–306.

Sarala, R.M., Cooper, C., Junni, P., and Tarba, S. (2016), “A socio-cultural perspective on knowledge transfer in mergers and acquisitions”, Journal of Management, Vol. 42 No. 5, 1230–1249.

Shams, S. R., Vrontis, D., Weber, Y., Tsoukatos, E., & Ferraris, A. (Eds.). (2019). Cross-functional Knowledge Management: The International Landscape. Routledge.

Spender, J. C.; Corvello, V.; Grimaldi, M. and Rippa, P. (2017), "Startups and open innovation: a review of the literature", European Journal of Innovation Management, v. 20, n. 1, pp.4-30.

Tallman, S., & Chacar, A. S. (2011). Communities, alliances, networks and knowledge in multinational firms: a micro-analytic framework. Journal of International Management, 17(3), 201-210.

Teece, D. J., Peteraf, M. and Leih, S. (2016), “Dynamic capabilities and organizational agility: risk, uncertainty, and strategy in the innovation economy”, California Management Review, Vol. 58 No. 4, pp. 13-35.

Teece, D. J. (2007), “Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 28 No. 13, pp. 1319-1350.

Teece, D. J., Pisano, G. and Shuen, A. (1997), “Dynamic capabilities and strategic management”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 509-533.

Vahlne, J. E., & Johanson, J. (2013). The Uppsala model on evolution of the multinational business enterprise–from internalization to coordination of networks. International Marketing Review, 30(3), 189-210.

Weber, Y. and Tarba, S. Y. (2014). “Strategic agility: a state of the art”, California Management Review, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 5–12.

Xue, C. T. S. (2017). A Literature Review on Knowledge Management in Organizations. Research in Business and Management, 4(1), 30-41.

Yoon, E. and Hughes, S. (2016), “Big Companies Should Collaborate with Startups”, Harvard Business Review, Boston.