Knowledge management in supply chain management: A collaboration-focused exploratory study on shipbuilding industry

Today, sliding of the world?s shipbuilding industry?s main production area to the east is one of the triggering cause of global financial fluctuations and also the result of them. The investors who seek cheap working force and consequently cost minimization to build a ship are under the pressure of?quality loss? and ?high standards defined in international regulations.?The most important effect of these financial fluctuations which come from past in the Turkish market is the necessity of being a genuine brand in shipbuilding industry. Advancements in the sector which had the leadership role in small size chemical tanker building before crisis should also be studiedand evaluated in organizational level with today?s modern management perception. In this study, shipbuilding industry is explored with two management philosopy such as ?Knowledge Management? and ?Supply Chain Management? which come together in ?collaboration? essence. Potential of Turkish chemical tanker building is displayed by a ?field study? and?theoretical framework? -developed from the literature survey in knowledge management domain- is modelled with ?international Delphi study?. As presented in last chapter, the model is tested in shipyard?s supply chain with ?case study? research method.The Knowledge used in shipbuilding industry can be personalized or codified. Main actors of shipbuilding industry will have the ability of setting appropriate strategy as long as they can clasify knowledge correctly.Key Words: Institutionalization, International Business Strategy, InstitutionBased View, China, India