Call for Chapters: Knowledge Management for Competitive Advantage: Issues
and Potential Solutions
Editors
Michael A. Chilton (Kansas State University, USA)
James M. Bloodgood (Kansas State University, USA)
Call for Chapters
Proposals Submission Deadline: October 15, 2012
Full Chapters Due: February 15, 2013
Introduction
Knowledge is the one of the most critical organizational resources. The
creation, acquisition, transfer, use, and protection of knowledge provide
opportunities for organizations to create and sustain competitive advantage.
To do so, organizations must be able to build and sustain knowledge within
their core businesses, yet protect much of that knowledge from discovery by
competitors. This book will present papers that will help knowledge
management researchers as well as practitioners as they seek to distinguish
themselves from the competition through the effective use of knowledge. For
example, this book will provide researchers with ways to better integrate
knowledge management practices with theories such as the resource-based view
and institutional theory, thereby advancing the ability of these theories to
make a greater contribution to the literature. The book is intended to
answer questions such as:
1. To what degree should organizations attempt to protect various types of
knowledge they create or possess?
2. What ways of protecting organizational knowledge are most effective?
3. Are there specific types of knowledge that are more vulnerable than
others, and if so, how can they be better protected?
4. Can an organization prevent loss of knowledge through employee
turnover/retirement? If so, how?
Objective of the Book
This book will advance the current scope of research in support of knowledge
management by primarily focusing on how knowledge can be used to create
competitive advantages and sustain them. We challenge potential authors to
use theoretically-based logic to conceptualize new theory, integrate
existing theory, develop new models, or empirically test data associated
with knowledge management and competitive advantage. A variety of theories
can be used to meet this challenge. For example, institutional theory
suggests that in environments with a high degree of uncertainty there is an
increased likelihood for firms to imitate other firms. Although this can
help a firm achieve parity, it hinders the firm in achieving competitive
advantage. New and updated models may be able to explain the process
whereby firms can combine imitation and innovation to achieve competitive
advantage.
Target Audience
The potential audience of this book will come primarily from the information
systems and management disciplines. In addition, there is a significant
amount of research into knowledge management and competitive advantage in
marketing. This compendium will target those who work and/or perform
research in the areas of knowledge management, strategic management, and
competitive assessment and advantage. In addition, the proposed book will
assist the prospective audience (e.g. professors, students, researchers,
practitioners) in guiding their work toward more productive additions to the
literature and to the practice of management.
A wide range of topics will be included in this book. The main emphasis
will be on the intersection of knowledge management and achieving
sustainable competitive advantage. Particular areas of interest are at the
strategic, managerial, and individual levels of the firm. Recommended
topics include, but are not limited to the following:
Management of Knowledge Types & Quality
* Are there different types of knowledge that need protection (e.g., tacit &
explicit; strategic vs. tactical)? If so, what is the impact on
competitiveness if knowledge leaks occur?
* Management of employees exposure to different knowledge types
* Different methods of managing different knowledge types
* The effects of knowledge quality on competitive advantage:
o Deep vs. surface
o General vs. domain specific
o Verbal vs. pictorial
Knowledge Management and Sustainable Competitive Advantage
* Creating knowledge that can be protected
* Knowledge protection practices
* Importance of protection for particular types of knowledge
Individuals and Knowledge Management
* Matching of organizational members and knowledge types
* Work processes associated with building knowledge for competitive advantage
* Employee turnover and knowledge management
* Employee retirements and knowledge management
Knowledge Management and Relationships
* Knowledge and its effects on external relationships with vendors
* Knowledge and its effects on external relationships with customers
* Knowledge and its effects on internal relationships across
divisions/groups/departments
Knowledge Networks
* The formation and management of knowledge networks
* Protection of knowledge networks
Submission Procedure
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before October 15,
2012, a 2-3 page chapter proposal clearly explaining the mission and
concerns of the proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be
notified by December 15, 2012 about the status of their proposals and sent
chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by February
15, 2013. We welcome theoretical and empirical pieces as well as papers
that demonstrate best practices using a case study approach. Practitioners
with experience in any of the above listed areas and who have work related
examples to help illustrate the concepts are particularly encouraged to
submit a proposal.
All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis.
Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.
Publisher
This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group
Inc.), publisher of the Information Science Reference (formerly Idea Group
Reference), Medical Information Science Reference, Business Science
Reference, and Engineering Science Reference imprints. For additional
information regarding the publisher, please visit
www.igi-global.com. This
book is anticipated to be released in 2013.
Important Dates
October 15, 2012: Proposal Submission Deadline
December 15, 2012: Notification of Acceptance
February 15, 2013: Full Chapter Submission
April 15, 2013: Review Results Returned
May 15, 2013: Revised Chapter Submission
Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document):
Dr. Michael A. Chilton
mchilton@ksu.edu
(785) 532-4357
Dr. James M. Bloodgood
jblood@ksu.edu
(785) 532-3711
Department of Management
College of Business Administration
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
USA