**6. Conclusion**

The purpose of this paper was to gain a better understanding of factors that impede and foster the inter-organizational knowledge sharing within a collaborative project. The results generated in this analysis highlight how social proximity, which is considerate as a facilitator to collaboration and interactive learning, is needed to initiate the collaborative project but neither fosters collaboration nor facilitates the knowledge sharing process in a lack of other factors. Contrary to research showing the relevant role of social proximity to foster collaboration, our finding suggests that within the project progress, the lack of leadership and interest in the project the collaborative project fail to achieve their goal which is

**169**

*Managing Inter-Organizational Knowledge Sharing: Integrating Macro, Meso and Micro...*

proximity, leadership and the philosophy of the organization.

**Appendix 1: data structure**

the knowledge sharing. Furthermore, this paper contributes to existing literature on collaboration and knowledge management by analysing the role of proximity, especially social proximity, depending on project stage and progression. This paper points out the need of multilevel analysis to better understand the dynamic of interorganizational knowledge sharing. As stated earlier, three level of analysis used for this research. The three levels are continually interacting. Indeed, we believe that the relationships between organizations within the cluster impact the dynamics of individuals and groups that collaborate, but also these organizations evolve within an environment that shapes them. This impact is by no means a unilateral one, since the structures of social systems are both «conditions and results of the activities performed by agents who are part of these systems» ([64]: 15). There is therefore a duality between action and structure according to Giddens [64]. Similarly, as the knowledge sharing is a social phenomenon, we believe that the understanding of the interorganizational knowledge sharing dynamic within the cluster should shed light on the interaction between different actors and social systems at three level of the ecosystem: micro, meso and macro. The choice of CRIAQ projects as a single case of the study limits the generalization of the results. Moreover, even if the choice of this typical case seems adequate to our study and our research concerns, it would be interesting to study other cases of collaborative projects within the ecosystem. In addition, a comparison between national and international projects would make it possible to deepen certain results, in particular on the concepts of

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97830*

*Managing Inter-Organizational Knowledge Sharing: Integrating Macro, Meso and Micro... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97830*

the knowledge sharing. Furthermore, this paper contributes to existing literature on collaboration and knowledge management by analysing the role of proximity, especially social proximity, depending on project stage and progression. This paper points out the need of multilevel analysis to better understand the dynamic of interorganizational knowledge sharing. As stated earlier, three level of analysis used for this research. The three levels are continually interacting. Indeed, we believe that the relationships between organizations within the cluster impact the dynamics of individuals and groups that collaborate, but also these organizations evolve within an environment that shapes them. This impact is by no means a unilateral one, since the structures of social systems are both «conditions and results of the activities performed by agents who are part of these systems» ([64]: 15). There is therefore a duality between action and structure according to Giddens [64]. Similarly, as the knowledge sharing is a social phenomenon, we believe that the understanding of the interorganizational knowledge sharing dynamic within the cluster should shed light on the interaction between different actors and social systems at three level of the ecosystem: micro, meso and macro. The choice of CRIAQ projects as a single case of the study limits the generalization of the results. Moreover, even if the choice of this typical case seems adequate to our study and our research concerns, it would be interesting to study other cases of collaborative projects within the ecosystem. In addition, a comparison between national and international projects would make it possible to deepen certain results, in particular on the concepts of proximity, leadership and the philosophy of the organization.
