International joint ventures: creating value through successful knowledge management

Knowledge management is the conscious and active management of creating, disseminating, evolving and applying knowledge to strategic ends. In this paper, we examine knowledge management in the context of international joint ventures (IJVs), activities that cut across organizational and national boundaries, to show how to manage the behavioral and contextual considerations to create value for the parent companies. A case based methodology was used to conduct 20 in-depth interviews and collect archival data from eight IJVs within the NAFTA partnership of Canada, U.S.A. and Mexico. The findings, achieved with the aid of NUD.IST, a qualitative data analysis package, are summarized into six descriptors that differentiate successful and unsuccessful cases. These descriptors are: mindset, controls, strategic integration, training and development, resource contributions and integration, and relationship development.International joint ventures Knowledge management Qualitative research Learning

Strategy and knowledge management in humanitarian organizations

Building on the knowledge-based view of the firm, this chapter provides a social capital approach for knowledge sharing, creation, and retention as a way to reach sustainable competitive advantage for humanitarian organizations. Based on the case of the World Health Organization, we focus on the role of individual internal networks provided by initiatives such as (i) staff mobility programs across international offices, (ii) eHealth collaborations, and (iii) eLearning Networks for knowledge exploitation and exploration. We argue that these networks are particularly relevant for humanitarian organizations as they face the challenge of managing the knowledge gained by individuals in operations in various geographical regions of the world. The chapter also discusses implications for humanitarian organizations when facing knowledge challenges derived from geographically dispersed operations