Improving knowledge transfers: demystifying the role of the core knowledge attributes

Past research shows that knowledge attributes affect knowledge transfer effectiveness. However, our understanding of knowledge attributes is marked by ambiguous, overlapping, and non-parsimonious conceptualizations, often based on aggregate-level attributes. Distilling the extant literature, we identify four core attributes of organizational knowledge: tacitness, dynamic nature, path-dependence, and public good nature. Further, we develop a framework showing that these core attributes are interrelated and impact knowledge transfers together. Specifically, we highlight how tacitness, dynamic nature, and path-dependence affect “excludability”, a component of public-good nature, which directly impacts knowledge transfers. By integrating the fragmented literature in this area and identifying the core attributes and their inter-relationships, we contribute to a richer understanding of the nature of organizational knowledge and its transfer. Insights from this study can equip managers to decipher the nature of the knowledge they intend to transfer (or prevent from leakage) and design more effective mechanisms for knowledge management in organizations.