Knowledge sharing and protection in data-centric collaborations: An exploratory study

Digital supply chains (SCs) and data-centric collaborations have boosted data exchange between companies and, combined with recent advancements in data science, have brought a new type of knowledge risks . This paper presents an exploratory interview study investigating knowledge risks in data-centric collaborations. The aim is to gain insights into the current perception and awareness of knowledge risks and approaches to data-centric collaborations to encounter them. The authors conducted 27 interviews with 15 experts in a two-stage semi-structured interview study. The first stage identified three kinds of approaches for managing knowledge risks in data-centric collaborations: (1) informal, (2) preventive and (3) proactive, which were validated in follow-up interviews. All three approaches lead to different perspectives of sharing and protecting knowledge within the digital SC and relate to the business model and the level of innovation within the organisation.