Abstract
This article discusses the role of academics in knowledge diffusion among various stakeholders using a case study of a sustainability-oriented workshop to address issues of a local forest in central Japan. This research employs thematic analysis through interpreted data from documents, minutes of meetings, workshop interactions among stakeholders, debriefing sessions, questionnaires, and fieldwork findings of participants in a regional business school. The findings show that Bridging Academics (BAs) have effectively facilitated knowledge diffusion amongst global, national and local stakeholder clusters. The interactions among workshop stakeholders resulted in outcomes that enhanced awareness of knowledge gaps, fostered effective communication, enabled knowledge extension, and created shared values. The study contributes towards the understanding of academics’ roles in collaborative settings for sustainability and suggests a multi-node knowledge link model as a collaborative mechanism for knowledge diffusion. The study suggests implications for stakeholders and provides a use case relevant to sustainability-based regional development.
Highlights
Sustainability is defined as fulfilling the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [1]
We examined the structure and process of Bridging Academics (BAs) that led to collaborative arrangements to better understand knowledge diffusion among stakeholders in sustainability-oriented PPPs
The goal of this paper is to examine the effects of Bridging Academics (BAs) on knowledge diffusion among stakeholders of a sustainability-driven public–private partnership
Summary
Sustainability is defined as fulfilling the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [1]. As sustainable development accounts for the needs of all members of a given society, the creation and dissemination of knowledge related to sustainability are expected to involve partnerships with the widest range of stakeholders possible. A higher education institution is well-positioned to become a knowledge hub in a given region by providing channels through which stakeholders can engage in action-based projects on sustainability knowledge creation and dissemination, with the aim of better understanding the role of external stakeholders. Academics from the NUCB Business School (based in the Tokai subregion of Japan) were tasked to develop the SDGs workshop, which aims to promote sustainability-based knowledge diffusion between the global participants and regional stakeholders involved in the Ricoh Ena Forest. The range of activities includes conservation of rare species in the forest by increasing environmental awareness among the young generation and the social and physical well-being of local residents.
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