CFP: SMS 28th Annual International Conference

[entrepreneurship-phd at lists.uni-due.de]

Call for Proposals - SMS 28th Annual International Conference
October 12 - 15, 2008
MARITIM Hotel - Cologne, Germany
Deadline: February 4, 2008

HOW DOES KNOWLEDGE MATTER?

In today's "Post-Industrial Era", economic growth is mainly driven by
the accumulation and application of knowledge. Knowledge is widely
recognized as a resource that is critical for explaining performance
differences, innovation, market dynamics, and governance issues. As
economies have become more knowledge-intensive, interest in knowledge
management has significantly increased. The abilities to create,
acquire, disseminate, and apply knowledge within the firm and across
firms are increasingly recognized as essential for gaining and
sustaining a competitive advantage.

The management of knowledge is not only of practical concern for firms;
it is also an important research topic in strategic management.
Knowledge-related processes such as knowledge creation, transfer and
retention require appropriate organizational structures (e.g., market or
hierarchy) and coordination mechanisms (e.g., formal contracts,
incentives, social networks, information and communication
technologies). The relationship between specific organizational
structures and coordination mechanisms and knowledge-related processes,
however, remains an under-researched topic. In addition, the choices of
structure and coordination mechanisms are associated with significant
costs that must be weighed by managers, yet research on the costs and
benefits of knowledge management remains scarce. Both of these issues
are further impacted by the difficulties of measuring organizational
knowledge due to its tacit and intangible nature. Without progress on
this issue, however, research on knowledge management within and between
organizations will remain limited.

In light of these issues, the purpose of the SMS 28th Annual
International Conference in Cologne is to advance the current
understanding of how knowledge matters. In particular, the following
three topics will be the focus of this year's SMS conference:

* Managing knowledge, i.e., the links between organizational structures,
coordination mechanisms, and knowledge management processes
* Measuring knowledge, i.e., innovative methodologies and approaches to
measure knowledge, knowledge management, and knowledge-related processes
* Evaluating knowledge management, i.e., the costs and benefits of
knowledge management.

The SMS Annual International Conference invites contributions that
represent original, interesting, and theoretically bold research, as
well as innovative empirical studies. As reflected in the themes of the
conference tracks below, there are numerous potential questions that can
be addressed. The outlined ideas are meant to bridge the gap between
theory, methodology, and the practice of knowledge management. Study
results should offer practical solutions for managers with an interest
in managing and governing knowledge.

CONFERENCE THEME TRACKS

(A) MANAGING KNOWLEDGE: Governance Structures and Knoweldge Management
Processes
Research on knowledge management focuses on a fundamental set of
processes associated with knowledge resources. These processes
predominantly refer to knowledge creation, the transfer of knowledge
within and across organizational boundaries, and knowledge retention.
Possible questions associated with these issues include: Which
structures and mechanisms are likely to promote the creation of
knowledge? How is knowledge transferred within and between organizations
and what factors facilitate (or inhibit) its transfer? When and what
types of knowledge are worth retaining? Under what conditions is
knowledge a public or a private good, and how can knowledge be
protected? Which modern technologies and methods are available and
appropriate for managing knowledge?

(B) MEASURING KNOWLEDGE: Innovative Methodologies and Approaches
An area of critical importance is the development of better methods for
measuring knowledge and evaluating the impact of knowledge-related
processes on firms and their performance. Process, content and context
of knowledge management are important research topics. More efforts are
needed which apply complementary measurement approaches within single
studies, use comprehensive datasets, and replicate and validate results
across studies. All empirical methods are welcome. Open questions
include: How might knowledge and knowledge-related processes be
measured? How does the conceptualization of knowledge in a study
correspond with the measure chosen (including its limitations)? Which
longitudinal and dynamic methodologies are best suited to overcome the
problems associated with the measurement of knowledge and
knowledge-related processes?

(C) EVALUATING KNOWLEDGE: Costs and Benefits of Knowledge Management
Though knowledge-related processes and their governance are not
costless, less than six percent of publications in this research field
refer to the benefits and costs of knowledge management (Foss, 2007).
Open questions are, e.g.: What are the benefits and costs of knowledge
management? Is the value of knowledge overstated in some industries and
businesses in the post-industrial economy? Under what circumstances does
knowledge improve economic performance? What are the benefits and
pitfalls of not managing knowledge systematically? How do financial
analysts deal with the problem of adequately assessing the value of
knowledge-based enterprises?

(D) GENERAL
Many exciting sets of ideas and knowledge-based assertions have been
offered. Interesting questions include: What theoretical and practical
perspectives can be associated with the conference theme "How Does
Knowledge Matter"? Which theories are especially suitable in explaining
how knowledge matters? What do we know and how should we proceed? What
opportunities are there for cross-disciplinary research, and what can
strategic management learn from other disciplines?

INTEREST GROUP TRACKS

The SMS has formed Interest Groups around some important sub-fields in
strategic management. These seven groups each invite interested
participants to engage with them in pre-conference activities. In
addition, through this Call, each Interest Group invites submissions for
the main body of the conference in which the authors address aspects of
"how knowledge matters" along with other topics relevant to the Interest
Group domain. The conference program will include papers and panels that
Interest Groups select in their topical areas, along with the selections
from the above conference tracks. Submissions to the Interest Group
tracks are open to any interested parties.

(E) COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
How, why, and under what circumstances do knowledge-related processes
such as knowledge creation, organizational learning, knowledge sharing,
and knowledge retention contribute to the emergence and sustainability
of competitive advantage? What special skills and capabilities does the
governance of those processes require? How can one assess the benefits
and costs of managing knowledge and its competitive impacts?

(F) CORPORATE STRATEGY AND GOVERNANCE
Which governance mechanisms are beneficial in promoting knowledge
sharing among business units? How can the success of knowledge sharing
in multibusiness firms be assessed? How does the knowledge intensity of
a firm influence its portfolio decisions? Under what conditions and how
do the possession and/or acquisition of knowledge give rise to questions
of how a corporate portfolio should be restructured/diversified?

(G) GLOBAL STRATEGY
How does an extension of operations across national boundaries affect a
firm's opportunities to create and/or acquire new knowledge? Which
benefits and pitfalls are associated with knowledge acquisition across
national boundaries? How can the risks that those strategies bear be
mitigated? How might the role of different types of knowledge and
knowledge management processes vary between manufacturing MNCs and
service MNCs?

(H) STRATEGY PROCESS
How can top management teams communicate and promote the necessity of
knowledge sharing among organizational subunits? How can
knowledge-related processes such as knowledge creation, sharing and
retention be sponsored or supported by management? What roles do
managers at all levels and employees play in fostering those processes?
Which factors may impede knowledge transfer between subunits? How can
the risk of opportunistic behavior be mitigated?

(I) KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION
Where does knowledge reside? How can it be made visible and accessible?
Where and how does organizational learning take place and result in
innovation? Under what circumstances is it best to forget organizational
knowledge? What drives managers to hang on to obsolete knowledge? How
can those "competency traps" successfully be overcome? How can
knowledge, learning, and innovation be managed in an efficient way?

(J) THE PRACTICE OF STRATEGY
How and by whom are knowledge-related issues identified and
conceptualized? Referring to the governance of knowledge-related
processes in firms, how are potential solutions generated, evaluated,
and decided on? What tools and methodologies are available and best
suited for those processes?

(K) ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND STRATEGY
Individuals in existing organizations that possess knowledge (e.g.,
scientists, employees) often create entrepreneurial new ventures. What
strategies enable or impede new venture formation? How do strategies
undertaken by parent organizations and entrepreneurial new ventures
enable or impede value appropriation from knowledge? How does the role
of knowledge in an entrepreneurial firm differ from that in an
established firm? How can the knowledge-creating capabilities of new
ventures be assessed? How do knowledge-governance capabilities drive a
new venture's competitive advantage?

Important Dates And Deadlines

February 4, 2008
    Proposals Due in SMS Executive Office

February 15, 2008
    Co-Author Confirmation Deadline

April 2008
    Notification of Program Review Committee Decisions

May 15, 2008
    Presenter Registration Deadline

July 2008
    Conference Program Available on SMS Web site

October 12 - 15, 2008
    SMS 28th Annual International Conference
    MARITIM Hotel - Cologne, Germany

More info at
http://cologne.strategicmanagement.net/pdf/SMS2008CallForProposals.pdf