thesis_Daniela Noethen_print final - Jacobs University

the importance of including lower levels of analysis; as results of paper two revealed,
knowledge transfer seems to be more a matter of dyads than of individuals or teams.
The third contribution to the field of knowledge transfer concerns the role of age. With
this dissertation, I took a first step toward the analysis of age effects on knowledge transfer as
well as the basis of such age effects. Even though the relationships found might have been
weak, I consider this a promising alley, as the changing age structure of the work force will
make the investigation of accompanying effects on several constructs and organizational
processes, including knowledge transfer, necessary. Introducing the topic of intergenerational
knowledge transfer as well as presenting effects of age difference at the dyadic level and age
diversity at the team level not only raises awareness for age-related changes, but might also
build the starting point for much more research on this topic (see section 5.4.).
5.6. Concluding Remarks
The theoretical and empirical work presented in the framework of this dissertation has
demonstrated that knowledge transfer is an important but complex construct to study, with a
multitude of influencing factors at different levels. This turns the management of knowledge
transfer processes literally into a science. But besides all the explained variance, significant
influences, moderations, and mediated effects, we should not forget that knowledge is
transferred whether the process is managed or not, and that engaging in knowledge transfer
can be very easy. I would like to come back here to the quote taken from Davenport and
Prusak (1998), “How can an organization transfer knowledge effectively? The short answer,
and the best one, is: hire smart people and let them talk to one another.”
Knowledge transfer happens all the time, and on closer inspection, it just happened –
while you were reading these pages.
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