thesis_Daniela Noethen_print final - Jacobs University

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.
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