Knowledge Management in a Business-to-Business Context: An Indian Exemplar?

A conceptual framework originating within the Operations Research literature is presented as a means of informing researchers about how they might better understand and exploit knowledge management/sharing/transfer in business-to-business knowledge networks. Preliminary analysis of a recent Indian case study supports the utility of this framework through the identification of facilitators (information systems, mediators) and barriers (distance, organisational) to successful knowledge flow between organisations both domestically and internationally. The ongoing challenge is to increase our understanding of how firms can better balance knowledge protection and sharing such that managers involved in these inter-organisational exchanges can maximise the benefits to both sides of the dyad; especially in emerging markets such as India with different market characteristics, institutional development and business customer behaviours.