An innovative approach to identify the knowledge diffusion path: the case of resource-based theory

Abstract

This study presents an innovative approach for identifying the knowledge diffusion path of a target research field. We take the resource-based theory (RBT) as an example to demonstrate the usefulness of this methodology. Several survey studies have provided valuable summarization and commentaries to the RBT from different perspectives. These analyses are useful and pertinent for understanding the development of RBT. However, limited by the methodologies they used, previous scholars can only select part of the RBT literature to conduct the survey work. To eliminate the limitation, this study develops an innovative approach which can handle thousands of articles. This study analyzes a dataset including 2,105 theoretical developments, empirical studies, and review papers to explore the knowledge diffusion path of the RBT. Citation data are used to build the citation network. Main paths are then probed and visualized via social network analysis methodology. To figure out the total picture of the knowledge diffusion path, this study integrates various main path analyses to supplement the traditional approach. The traditional main path analysis investigates the knowledge diffusion from a local view. The global analysis provides a main path from a macro view. The key-route analysis helps explore and clarify a complete picture of the convergence-divergence phenomena. We believe that through this novel tool, new researchers can easily identify the papers that have made major contributions to RBT knowledge diffusion and uncover the interrelationships among them.