Knowledge Diffusion in a Global Supply Network: A Network of Practice View

Abstract

This study investigates how knowledge diffusion occurs in a globally dispersed supply network, wherein buying firms and suppliers often do not have strong relationships and competitive tensions prevail. We elaborate the Network of Practice (NoP) view by examining a global supply network in the food sector that is as an exemplar of high global dispersion. This paper provides several novel insights into global knowledge diffusion. We introduce the NoP concept of homophily into the field of supply chain management to explain knowledge diffusion within global supply networks. We take a longitudinal perspective to show that although prior contractual ties (relational homophily) and co-location (location homophily) initially drive knowledge diffusion, in the long-term, shared practices (practice homophily) are the principal driver of knowledge diffusion. We demonstrate that buying firms’ assurance of procedural justice, together with the predominance of geographically dispersed suppliers and the emergence of nexus members, can help dampen supplier resistance to knowledge diffusion. The study shows that knowledge diffusion in a global supply NoP occurs in two complementary forms—broadcasting forums and action groups—which vary in breadth, depth, and tie diversity. Ultimately, we present vertical (buyer-supplier), horizontal (suppliersupplier), and diagonal (non-competitive) relationships as important refinements of the NoP view that characterize a global supply NoP. Overall, our findings offer a path for buying firms to establish adequate online infrastructure to support the emergence of decentralized and self-organized knowledge diffusion in a globally dispersed supply network.