The status of cooperation for the organisational learning of SMEs: an empirical literature review and research agenda

In an increasingly global and competitive world, organisations need to search for additional methods to gain competitive advantage and enhance performance. Greater relevance is attributed to inter-organisational learning, a key factor for the success of an organisation. The aim of this research is to present a systematic review of organisational learning and cooperation in Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), based on related articles published in Web of Science and Scopus. Over the period 1994-2018, a total of 49 papers were found after applying exclusion criteria. Analysis of the evolution of publications, leading journals, authors, methodologies and theories was performed. Lastly, a content study identified three main topics in the field: partners, enabling factors and results and objectives for firms to cooperate and learn.