Milan, SimicAlHarbi, Zaid2026-07-162026Al-Harbi, Z.K. (2026).Refinement theoretical positioning , and case-based assessment of SOIA:A Knowledge Management Framework for Governing Knowledge Flows in Innovation-Intensive Firms (Tesla Inc.)[Master's Thesis, RMIT university ].https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14154/79578This master’s thesis develops and evaluates the SOIA framework through a qualitative case study of Tesla. SOIA explains how firms manage knowledge through four connected activities: Socialise, where knowledge is shared through interaction; Open, where selected knowledge is shared externally; Interface, where systems and organisational boundaries connect different sources of knowledge; and Absorb, where external knowledge is understood and applied. The study examines how innovation-intensive firms balance knowledge sharing with strategic protection and assesses how the framework operates across organisational, industry, and ecosystem levels.Knowledge Management research has examined how firms create, share, and convert knowledge. Less attention has been given to how firms govern knowledge flows under selective openness, where selected knowledge is disclosed while strategically valuable assets remain protected. Existing frameworks address parts of this problem. SECI explains knowledge creation, open innovation identifies purposive external flows, absorptive capacity explains uptake, and intellectual property governance addresses appropriability. However, these perspectives do not provide an integrated Knowledge Management framework for explaining the governance architecture as a whole. This thesis refines, theoretically positions, and assesses SOIA as a Knowledge Management framework for governing knowledge flows in innovation-intensive firms operating under selective openness. SOIA comprises four core process constructs: Socialise, Open, Interface, and Absorb, with Protect and Tune operating as cross-cutting governance overlays. The study adopts a qualitative, theory informed, single-case design using secondary documentary evidence from Tesla Inc. The analytical strategy employs construct operationalisation, proposition development, pattern matching, rival explanation analysis, and a proposition-to-evidence matrix. The findings indicate that Tesla is not adequately explained as simply open or protective. Instead, the documentary evidence shows a recurring governance configuration in which selected knowledge is opened, boundary movement is structured through interfaces, strategic assets remain protected, and external or distributed knowledge is absorbed into firm-controlled capability. Strongest support is found for Open, Interface, Absorb, Protect, and recursive knowledge-flow dynamics. Tune receives inferential support, while Socialise remains difficult to confirm from public documents because tacit and cultural knowledge processes are not directly visible in corporate disclosures. The thesis contributes a refined middle-range Knowledge Management framework that explains how knowledge is selectively opened, governed through interfaces, absorbed into internal capability, protected through appropriability mechanisms, and recalibrated over time. It also shows how SOIA extends beyond SECI by shifting attention from knowledge creation alone to the governance architecture of knowledge flows. The study is limited by its reliance on secondary documentary evidence from a single case, which restricts generalisation and excludes direct observation of tacit and informal knowledge practices.97enKnowledge ManagementGovernanceKnowledge FlowsInnovation-Intensive FirmsTeslaIntellectual Property ProtectionKnowledge GovernanceOpen InnovationIP and OpennessInnovation vs ProtectionAbsorptive CapacityThesis