thesis_Daniela Noethen_print final - Jacobs University

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Knowledge, Knowledge Management, and Knowledge Transfer which the new knowledge is routinely used and integrated into the knowledge base of the recipient. In contrast to this stage model, I do not consider the use of new knowledge as a necessary part of knowledge transfer, but rather as a consequence of knowledge transfer – just as it is considered by Alavi and Leidner (2001) as a knowledge management process separate from knowledge transfer. I will focus mainly on two different knowledge transfer behaviors which spotlight the two different agents engaged in knowledge transfer: knowledge seeking (by the seeker or recipient) and knowledge sharing (by the knowledge source). Following Gray and Meister (2004), I define knowledge seeking as a behavior by which an individual actively accesses another’s knowledge, regardless of the form of knowledge, or the communication channel employed. Similarly, with knowledge sharing I refer to a behavior by which one individual shares knowledge with another, regardless of the form of knowledge, the communication channel used, or the initiating party of the transfer. This distinction and why it is important will be explained in more detail in chapter two, where it is of crucial importance. Notwithstanding this focus on seeking and sharing, I agree with Davenport and Prusak (1998) in that for transfer to be successful, knowledge has not just to be sought, but eventually absorbed by the recipient. As will be further presented in chapter two, individual transfer has been investigated by researchers from a variety of fields, with a specific focus on facilitators and barriers of knowledge transfer (Faraj & Sproull, 2000; Oshri, Fenema, & Kotlarsky, 2008; Srivastava, Bartol, & Locke, 2006; Staples & Webster, 2008; Thomas-Hunt, Ogden, & Neale, 2003). Having defined knowledge, knowledge management, and knowledge transfer, one other concept that has already been frequently referred to still stands to be clarified: knowledge loss. This is done in the following section. 26
Knowledge, Knowledge Management, and Knowledge Transfer 1.1.6. Knowledge loss Knowledge loss is described by DeLong (2004) as a “decreased capacity for effective action or decision making in a specific organizational context” (p. 21) which is due to “retirement, turnover of younger employees, reorganization, or reassignment, or lack of access to knowledge archives” (p. 22). Just as knowledge exists and can be transferred at different levels within the organization, knowledge can also be lost at different organizational levels, such as the individual, group, or organizational level. In this dissertation, I focus on the exit of individual employees and on how individual knowledge transfer can possibly prevent knowledge loss. Nevertheless, it is important to notice that such an exit can lead to knowledge loss at the group or even organizational level, as it can have implications for the working group or the organization as a whole. Consequences of knowledge loss can be very diverse, depending on the knowledge that is lost. Sometimes they are immediate and tangible, such as production downtimes. In other cases they can be delayed and rather intangible, such as a less innovative output due to a lost contact to sources outside the organization. On a higher level, strategic implications can take the form of reduced capacity to innovate, a threatened ability to pursue growth strategies, reduced efficiency, giving competitors an advantage, or just being increasingly vulnerable (DeLong, 2004). Having clarified the most crucial concepts with respect to the present work such as knowledge, knowledge management, knowledge transfer, and knowledge loss, I will now briefly discuss a few conclusions that can be drawn from these explanations, which again have implications for the study sample I should use and the knowledge type and knowledge transfer situation I should consider. 27
Page 1 and 2: Knowledge Transfer in Teams and Its
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Contents Acknowle
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Multilevel Investigation of Anteced
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Intergenerational Knowledge Transfe
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Preventing Knowledge Loss When Empl
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the demographic change. Accordingly
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analysis was dyadic knowledge trans
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questions. The limitations that wil
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would be very different than for a
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“there are situations where knowl
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employing the distinctions recommen
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valuable addition to the existing l
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covers a very specific area of know
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the importance of including lower l
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Foss, N. J., Husted, K., & Michailo
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Watson, S., & Hewett, K. (2006). A
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