Partner selection strategy of knowledge supply chain based on knowledge collaboration

To explore the influence of knowledge collaboration on the selection of knowledge supply chain partners, and to help core members select suitable knowledge supply chain partners, the effects of both on the distribution of expected benefits among core and collaborative members were investigated respectively based on knowledge spillover and knowledge innovation, and the clique solution was used to allocate the total expected benefits, which leaded to the partner selection strategy of the knowledge supply chain. The results showed that without considering the knowledge innovation of collaborative members, the core member would give priority to selecting collaborative members with knowledge stock advantage to form a knowledge supply chain; only when the cost of knowledge spillover was low, the core member would increase the overall expected income of the knowledge supply chain through knowledge spillover. In the case of considering the knowledge innovation of collaborating members, the collaborating member with knowledge stock advantage still had a greater advantage in entering the knowledge supply chain. For the two collaborating members with knowledge stock disadvantage, they would form the knowledge supply chain with the core member only when their knowledge innovation benefits were higher than those of the collaborating member with knowledge stock advantage and reach a certain threshold. This study could help to reveal the internal mechanism of partner selection in knowledge supply chain, interpret the knowledge collaboration concept of knowledge supply chain, and provide theoretical reference and decision support for the knowledge management practice of knowledge supply chain. © 2023 CIMS. All rights reserved.