Title: Managing knowledge transfer as a strategic approach to competitive advantage

Authors: Claudine Soosay, Paul Hyland

Addresses: School of Management, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia. ' School of Natural and Rural Systems Management, The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072, Australia

Abstract: Knowledge has been recognised as a source of competitive advantage. Knowledge-based resources allow organisations to adapt products and services to the marketplace and deal with competitive challenges that enable them to compete more effectively. One factor critical to using knowledge-based resources is the ability to transfer knowledge as a dimension of the learning organisation. There are many elements that may influence whether knowledge transfer can be effectively achieved in an organisation such as leadership, problem-solving behaviours, support structures, change management capabilities, absorptive capacity and the nature of the knowledge. An existing framework was applied in a case study to explain how knowledge transfer can be managed effectively and to identify emerging issues or additional factors involved in the process. As a result, a refined framework is proposed that provides a better understanding for the effective management of knowledge transfer processes that can provide a competitive advantage.

Keywords: knowledge transfer; competitive advantage; case study; continuous innovation; learning organisations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2008.018065

International Journal of Technology Management, 2008 Vol.42 No.1/2, pp.143 - 157

Published online: 28 Apr 2008 *

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