Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
9-2013
Abstract
Current theories of how organizations harness knowledge for innovative activity cannot convincingly explain emergent practices whereby firms selectively reveal knowledge to their advantage. We conceive of selective revealing as a strategic mechanism to reshape the collaborative behavior of other actors in a firm's innovation ecosystem. We propose that selective revealing may provide an effective alternative to known collaboration mechanisms, particularly under conditions of high partner uncertainty, high coordination costs, and unwilling potential collaborators. We specify conditions when firms are more likely to reveal knowledge and highlight some boundary conditions for competitor reciprocity. We elaborate on strategies that allow firms to exhibit managerial agency in selective revealing and discuss selective revealing's implications for theories of organization and open innovation and for management practice.
Keywords
Selective revealing, collaboration, innovation, induced isomorphism, absorptive capacity, knowledge
Discipline
Business | Strategic Management Policy | Technology and Innovation
Research Areas
Strategy and Organisation
Publication
Academy of Management Review
Volume
38
Issue
2
First Page
270
Last Page
291
ISSN
0001-4273
Identifier
10.5465/amr.2011.0193
Publisher
Academy of Management
Citation
ALEXY, Oliver; GEORGE, Gerard; and SALTER, Ammon J..
Cui bono? The selective revealing of knowledge and its implications for innovative activity. (2013). Academy of Management Review. 38, (2), 270-291.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/4628
Copyright Owner and License
Publisher
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2011.0193