How Intensively Are KM Practices Used in Manufacturing Companies? A Comparative Analysis of Intra‐Firm and Inter‐Firm Adoption

In increasingly competitive and knowledge-intensive supply chains (SCs), effective knowledge management (KM) practices areessential for enhancing organizational learning, collaboration, innovation, and operational performance across both intra-firmand inter-firm contexts. Although prior studies have acknowledged the strategic importance of KM in SCs, the literature remainsfragmented, with limited empirical evidence regarding the specific KM practices adopted by firms, their degree of diffusion, andthe intensity with which they are used across organizational boundaries. This study addresses these gaps by investigating theadoption and intensity of use of 38 KM practices among European manufacturing firms operating in complex industrial envi-ronments. Drawing on survey data collected through a structured questionnaire, the study examines KM practices across threecategories: KM methods, KM applications of IT, and KM-enabling management actions, comparing their use within firms andin relationships with suppliers and customers. The findings reveal substantial heterogeneity in both the degree of spread andintensity of use of KM practices. Firms rely more intensively on operationally familiar practices, such as lessons learned, brain-storming, and database systems, while more specialized KM-oriented practices, including AI systems, demonstrate compara-tively lower adoption and usage levels. The results further indicate that the intensity of use of KM practices is consistently lowerin inter-firm relationships than within firms. However, strong positive correlations between intra-firm and inter-firm KM usagesuggest that internal KM capability development supports the extension of KM practices toward collaborative SC relationships.These findings contribute to the KM and process management literature by providing a comprehensive empirical assessment ofKM practices across intra- and inter-firm contexts and by offering practical insights for managers seeking to strengthen collabo-rative KM initiatives and supply chain learning capabilities