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Knowledge, Knowledge Management, and Knowledge Transfer 1.2. Conclusions and implications for the study design In the previous sections, different types and characteristics of knowledge have been described, and it seems obvious that not all types of knowledge are equally threatened to be lost. With respect to knowledge characteristics, explicit knowledge, for example, is less vulnerable to knowledge loss than tacit knowledge as it is far easier to document (although an effort to document it still has to be made). In a similar manner, certain knowledge types or knowledge contents are exposed to a greater threat of knowledge loss than others, and the loss of some contents would have more severe consequences than others. As DeLong (2004) puts it, “losing a veteran accountant or HR manager may be temporarily disruptive, but not as costly as losing a key salesperson managing internal accounts” (p. 27). Thus, as different departments or units usually possess different types or contents of knowledge, the threat of knowledge loss differs across such divisions: According to DeLong (2004), the threat of losing knowledge is especially pertinent in research and development departments as well as in organizational domains with knowledge that is critical for productivity gains, efficiency, continued performance improvements, or for running sophisticated systems (computer or otherwise). Additionally, organizational areas with individuals who engage in extensive personal relationships, e.g., to costumers or providers, are prone to the loss of knowledge. In general, it can be said that whenever single employees exclusively possess a certain piece of knowledge that is critical to the functioning of a task, a team, a division etc., this knowledge is extremely valuable and at a greater risk of being lost. Consequently, not every single retiree’s knowledge has to be meticulously retained (because it exists somewhere else in the organization and will not be lost), and not every team, division or even organization is equally affected by the threat of knowledge loss. For example, results of a study by King and Zeithaml (2003) indicate that organizational knowledge resources vary significantly across industries and even among companies within the same industry. 28
Knowledge, Knowledge Management, and Knowledge Transfer Furthermore, organizations do not necessarily want to retain all the knowledge they could possibly lose (DeLong, 2004). When older employees leave, this does not only pose a possible threat, but can also constitute a chance to get rid of outdated or no longer wanted knowledge (e.g., procedural knowledge on how things have always been done), and an opportunity for new knowledge and ideas to be introduced. As a matter of fact, in interviews and talks with study participants, mainly from middle and upper management, I oftentimes encountered that successors did not want to receive any (again, primarily procedural) knowledge from their predecessors, as the successors wanted to develop their own style and gather their own experiences. Considering these arguments, it is obvious that only specific types of knowledge in organizations are at risk of being lost and only the failure to retain certain retirees’ knowledge equals knowledge lost to the organization. There can exist entire teams of employees who are all doing the exact same tasks so that, if one of them leaves, this employee can be easily replaced without knowledge being lost. On the other hand, there are certain specialists within organizations who bear the exclusive responsibility for a certain task, and the loss of their knowledge would have detrimental consequences for the organization. Accordingly, the question arises if for the present dissertation project, a specific sample is necessary that consists of employees (or teams, or units) who possess especially critical knowledge. Of course, such a sample would be ideal, but is very difficult to obtain as oftentimes even the organizations themselves are not clear about who possesses such knowledge (Davenport & Prusak, 1998). But such a sample is not strictly necessary under the following conditions: First, I do not investigate knowledge loss directly, but rather if knowledge transfer as such can be considered a promising strategy for the prevention of knowledge loss (that is, how it can be increased, if it specifically exists between younger and older employees, and if it is different for employees who are expecting to leave). Second, I assume that employees who possess critical 29
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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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