New Perspectives for Knowledge Management in Inter-Organizational Networks and Relations in Agribusiness

Abstract

Inter-organizational networks appear in the literature as an alternative to collaborative arrangements to help the agribusiness sector in obtaining a competitive advantage and for the promotion of innovation. Obtaining complementary knowledge is one of the main reasons for the emergence of these networks.  In this way, knowledge management can help in the creation and transfer of knowledge in a collaborative way between the network participants. However, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to studies of inter-organizational relations and knowledge management, especially in relation to networks in the agribusiness sector. In this context, the present study aims to deepen the studies by addressing: a) how scientific research has worked on networks and inter-organizational relations in agribusiness; and b) the role of KM as an element of viability of this arrangement model. In order to answer these questions, a literature review was carried out through a systematic search in the databases Web of Science and Scopus, in order to verify how the researches are discussing the topic. As a result, the potential contribution of intensifying studies involving KM as an element of enhancing the capabilities of inter-organizational network participants is highlighted, and that the absorptive capacity presents itself as an important theory to explain how organizations manage to explore new innovative knowledge.