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Collaborative innovation requires space for different parties to meet, exchange information, engage in dialogue, and eventually create new solutions. Despite the increased scholarly and practical interest, understanding how such spaces are initiated and sustained remains scarce. In this study, we focus on a national data economy initiative to investigate a virtual and mental space where relevant and interested cross‐sectoral parties can join, share information and identify shared interests for research and development in the data economy. We investigate the early phases of collaborative innovation through the lens of liminality and show how individuals' sensemaking narratives manifest the different dimensions of liminality. We contribute to the research on collaborative innovation and spaces by theorising liminality in the context of our paper as a three‐dimensional concept of confusion–clarity, isolation–communal, and stagnation–movement that creates a threshold for collaborative innovation. Our study offers a more nuanced understanding of the less studied, yet critical, early phase of collaborative innovation, hence contributing to the research and practice of the emergence of collaborative innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that different human resource (HR)-related practices and mechanisms play a role with regard to knowledge and innovation protection. We further suggest that the relationship between the protective HR mechanisms-softer and harder, more or less restrictive forms-and innovation performance is affected by contingency factors, especially organizational trust. Theoretical and empirical examination indicates that the different HR mechanisms are associated with improved innovation performance. Furthermore, according to the findings, trust exerts a positive moderating effect when access to knowledge needs to be limited within the firm boundaries with the help of restrictive mechanisms and when the commitment increasing soft mechanisms are used to limit knowledge leaving. Furthermore, we find a negative moderating effect when legal, hard HR mechanisms direct the use of knowledge within the firm. Hence, the current study interprets trust as a contingency factor capable of enhancing collective understanding of the need for knowledge protection. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of relational and contractual governance mechanisms in vertical buyer-supplier R&D projects requiring both knowledge sharing and protection. Prior literature has recognised the mutual impact of relational and contractual governance on knowledge sharing, but treats the linkages in a rather static way. This research introduces a more explicit process perspective, and combines four concepts: trust, relational norms, contracts and intellectual property rights (IPRs). The paper concentrates on the roles and interplay of both types of mechanisms in the different project phases. We collected qualitative interview data from four buyer-supplier R&D collaboration projects, each pair serving as a unit of analysis. Our findings indicate that both contractual and relational governance mechanisms play a role in buyer-supplier R&D collaboration but their relative importance varies according to the collaboration phase. Whereas in the exploration phase trust may even substitute contractual governance, both mechanisms support each other in the development phase. Contractual mechanisms are emphasised in the finalisation phase, although relational mechanisms also play a role. The lesson for management understanding is that both types of mechanisms should be considered simultaneously throughout the collaboration process. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of culture in university–industry R&D collaboration and knowledge interaction in the context of multinational corporations in China. Earlier university–industry studies focus primarily on one-way technology and knowledge transfer; however, the present study argues that in the studied context more interactive types of knowledge interaction like knowledge co-creation should be of key concern. The main challenge of the R&D collaboration lies in the understanding of culture in general and Chinese guanxi (interpersonal relationship) in particular in collaborative knowledge creation, in which the dominant type of knowledge involved is most often tacit, future oriented, complex and context-specific. This is particularly important when dealing simultaneously with multi-disciplinary applied research where cultural challenges appear prominent. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of trust, asymmetry and contracting in R&D collaboration. At best, asymmetry brings major benefits to collaborating firms, but it may also become the basis of dissimilar orientation towards informal and formal governance methods, which makes managing the collaboration and reaching goals more complex. These issues are studied among 87 small Finnish ICT firms and the findings indicate that drawing overly straight generalizations on the roles of trust, contracting and asymmetry in R&D collaboration is risky. They all are closely bound together, affect each other differently, and have multiple dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Virtual teams offer the potential for the efficient combination of a dispersed workforce and the potential for leveraging diffuse knowledge and skills effectively for collaborative innovation. Information technology plays an important role in virtual teams, but virtual teamwork also involves significant social redesign. Trust is argued to be an important component in team development and effectiveness, and within this paper we explore the role and development of trust in the early stages of a virtual team. • On the basis of findings from a web-based questionnaire and interviews with global virtual team members in a major telecommunications company it appears that communications technology supports relationship building in tasks related to information sharing and storing and relational communication to a lesser degree. The antecedents of trust in the virtual team identified are similar to the antecedents of trust in a traditional collocated team context, and it appears that virtual team leaders and members approach virtual teams as an extension of traditional teamwork. • On the basis of the research results it is argued that relational communication and psychosocial factors such as trust, commitment and communication play an important role in the functioning of virtual teams. It is also suggested that where virtual team leaders and members attempt to approach virtual teams as an extension of traditional team-work, many of the potential benefits may not be realized while much of the expense related to virtual teamwork remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the authors delineate the challenges of a dynamic environment to R&D management. The authors build on most recent ideas, such as the dynamic capability view of the firm, as strategic foundation for modern R&D management. Collaboration is emphasized as a meta-capability for innovation. These ideas are merged into a‘Networked R&D Management’ approach that emphasizes internal and external collaboration networks as critical for companies operating in a dynamic business environment. The approach is illustrated with ICT industry as an example. The implementation of Networked R&D Management is reflected in the illustrative case discussion of R&D management of Sonera Corporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]