DifeRençAs e inteR-ReLAções Dos conceitos De goVeRnAnçA e gestão De ReDes hoRizontAis De emPResAs: contRibuições PARA o cAmPo De estuDos

Purpose Based on the growing interest devoted to knowledge management (KM) in inter-organizational contexts, the purpose of this paper is to systematize existing literature and understand how it developed over time, thus tracing its roots and evolution to unveil gaps and suggest new promising areas for future research. Design/methodology/approach This study used bibliographic techniques to analyze a sample of 85 studies along three main periods (1998-2010, 2011-2014 and 2015-2019). In particular, this study focused on co-occurrences of keywords to identify the most dominant themes, as well as connections among these themes. Findings Overall, the review shows the main outlets that have published papers on the topic of KM in inter-organizational contexts, as well as the theoretical background this research builds on. The temporal analysis exhibits the core topics that have persisted and grown consistently over time as the links between KM, innovation and networks. In addition, the review highlights new emerging themes, such as the human and social side of KM, and new interesting contexts of study (e.g. coopetition and open/user innovation), which opens exciting avenues for new research opportunities. Originality/value This study illustrates the conceptual structure of the field in three distinct periods and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the key topics and their interrelatedness within the area of KM in inter-organizational contexts. Both researchers and practitioners can profit from the study because it reveals consolidated topics while identifying areas that still need to be investigated to foster KM in inter-organizational settings.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to question whether the university entrepreneurial push strategy influences the entrepreneurial intention (EI) of its students. Previous research followed multilevel approaches that jointly addressed the impact of individual characteristics, institutional environment, and educational support on EI. Despite these efforts, the extant literature did not consider differences between universities regarding the whole set of activities they perform to foster entrepreneurship among students and their results. Design/methodology/approach Through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) procedures, this study compared data from 447 students of two Brazilian universities that differentiate themselves according to entrepreneurial push strategies (one adopts actions consistent with this type of strategy while the other does not). Whilst University 1 fosters entrepreneurship by investing in entrepreneurship courses, promoting entrepreneurship competitions, and offering incubation opportunities, University 2 primarily focuses on traditional managerial education without a specific focus on entrepreneurial activities. Findings Surprisingly, the results have shown the entrepreneurial push strategy of University 1 does not account for differences in the students’ EI when compared to University 2. Such finding contradicts previous studies on the effects of entrepreneurial education and sheds new lights on the role university’s support plays to foster entrepreneurship intention. Research limitations/implications Contributions to the literature on the field of entrepreneurship intention were made by showing that the efforts toward the promotion of entrepreneurship through entrepreneurship education, business plan competitions, and incubation might not have a direct influence on students’ EI. Practical implications As a practical implication, the study stimulates universities to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts in promoting entrepreneurship through training, education and support for new ventures. The results also offer policy implications by suggesting that public policies should emphasize the development of institutions that foster a positive business environment, facilitate the creation of new ventures, the funding of start-ups and reinforce the benefits of becoming an entrepreneur. Originality/value The results are surprising because they contradict previous studies of the university’s role in fostering entrepreneurship intention. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first research comparing universities with two different approaches toward developing students’ EI: one university with a whole set of activities and another university without any specific activity with that purpose.

Inter‐firm cooperation has been considered an important strategy for SMEs to overcome competitive difficulties. Despite the relevance of this strategy there are no studies that jointly consider how entrepreneurs' characteristics, organizational factors, and institutional features influence SMEs to establish cooperative agreements. In order to bridge this gap, we analyze what factors at these three levels explain inter‐firm cooperation and whether formal and informal inter‐firm agreements are explained by different factors. Our research is based on a survey of 1,587 Spanish SMEs and the results show that individual, organizational, and institutional factors contribute to jointly shape the decisions concerning inter‐firm cooperation.

Interorganizational agreements and cooperative business networks became an important strategy for companies facing competitive disadvantages. Specially small and medium firms adopted collaborative network models as a way to overcome common problems. Over 1,000 small-firm networks (SFNs) are estimated to have been created in Brazil since the year 2000. This study aimed to propose a SFNs life cycle model, applying it to a sample of twenty-eight SFNs established in two regions of southern Brazil. The results revealed that 68% of the analyzed SFNs are declining or no longer in business. Among the active business networks, 21% remain at the development stage, and only 11% have achieved consolidation. Most SFNs analyzed fell into a stage of decline early on in the life cycle, incapable of reaching Consolidation. Although results are restricted to the analyzed sample, our study highlights that major managerial efforts are necessary to reach the consolidation stage due to network complexity and expectations of network members. We conclude the paper by presenting subsidies for public policy makers and strategies that SFNs may adopt to reach the status of consolidated networks.