“…As a result, knowledge management becomes imperative for firms to utilize for innovation, most importantly, during crisis times. Hence, some scholars postulate the effect of regional influence on firm innovativeness ( (Tsouri, 2019). Hence, in as much as firms seek internal research and development for information and knowledge for innovation, they also pursue external sources by cooperating with international and national entities such as higher education institutions, suppliers, customers, and public and private research institutes.…”