Cross Discipline in Business
CROSS-DISCIPLINARY COMMUNITIES OR KNOWLEDGE ISLANDS: EXAMINING BUSINESS DISCIPLINES
JEAN A. PRATT University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI 54702 KARINA HAUSER Utah State University Logan, UT 84322 CASSIDY R. SUGIMOTO Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN 47405
ABSTRACT Successful knowledge transfer provides benefits to companies and society. Knowledge management across disparate business functions leads to improvement in business processes. Colleges are comprised of different departments training the next generation of business leaders who must be prepared to contribute in open, cross-functional environments. This research uses bibliometric research methods to examine the transfer of knowledge across business disciplines over four decades. Bibliometrics uses publication and citation data to document knowledge creation and transfer. The goal of this research is to identify publication and citation trends associated with knowledge creation and knowledge transfer within business disciplines. We analyzed four decades of citation patterns of the top 25 journals from established and emerging business disciplines. Initial analyses show increases in within-discipline and interdisciplinary publications and citations, demonstrating increased knowledge creation and transfer. Further analysis indicates the strength of knowledge flow among business disciplines, identifying the greatest knowledge transfer among disciplines. Keywords: academic knowledge creation, academic knowledge transfer, inter-disciplinary research, business research, citation analysis, bibliometrics INTRODUCTION Associated with the global trend towards knowledge-based societies, knowledge management has become increasingly important for companies to gain a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace. Successful knowledge management has been shown to provide numerous benefits to companies. Benefits of knowledge management can be categorized into process and organizational outcomes
JEAN A. PRATT University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI 54702 KARINA HAUSER Utah State University Logan, UT 84322 CASSIDY R. SUGIMOTO Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN 47405
ABSTRACT Successful knowledge transfer provides benefits to companies and society. Knowledge management across disparate business functions leads to improvement in business processes. Colleges are comprised of different departments training the next generation of business leaders who must be prepared to contribute in open, cross-functional environments. This research uses bibliometric research methods to examine the transfer of knowledge across business disciplines over four decades. Bibliometrics uses publication and citation data to document knowledge creation and transfer. The goal of this research is to identify publication and citation trends associated with knowledge creation and knowledge transfer within business disciplines. We analyzed four decades of citation patterns of the top 25 journals from established and emerging business disciplines. Initial analyses show increases in within-discipline and interdisciplinary publications and citations, demonstrating increased knowledge creation and transfer. Further analysis indicates the strength of knowledge flow among business disciplines, identifying the greatest knowledge transfer among disciplines. Keywords: academic knowledge creation, academic knowledge transfer, inter-disciplinary research, business research, citation analysis, bibliometrics INTRODUCTION Associated with the global trend towards knowledge-based societies, knowledge management has become increasingly important for companies to gain a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace. Successful knowledge management has been shown to provide numerous benefits to companies. Benefits of knowledge management can be categorized into process and organizational outcomes