Introduction: Inter-organisational knowledge networks

The special issue of the International Journal on Networking and Virtual Organizations emphasizes on the significance of inter-organizational knowledge networks. The internal side of companies is the place where the needs for knowledge management (KM) practices arise and where the earliest distinctive KM solutions have been developed and experimented. An organization provides the opportunity of a 'controlled environment' where it is possible to plan resources, investments and programs of KM to formulate and implement KM strategies and design and test technological and organizational KM solutions. The importance of networking and knowledge sharing has been fully recognized by executives, policy makers and scholars of various disciplines. All this requires new management capabilities and policy making approaches to enable networking of companies and organizations. It also becomes necessary to reinforce the mechanisms by which single organizations, specializing in complementary activities can connect and exchange knowledge.