Knowledge transfer—the extent to which one unit learns from or is affected by the experience of another—has the potential to improve the performance of organizations. Through knowledge transfer, developments made in one unit of an organization can benefit others. Studies have found, however, considerable variation in the extent to which knowledge transfers across organizational units. In some cases, knowledge transfers seamlessly, whereas in others, knowledge transfer is far from complete. This article reviews research with the aim of explaining the variation observed in knowledge transfer. Key factors identified as explaining the variation include knowledge transfer opportunities, knowledge characteristics, mechanisms for knowledge transfer, motivation for transfer, and the depth of consideration of knowledge. These factors are integrated into a theoretical framework that predicts when knowledge transfer will be successful. The article concludes with a discussion of directions for future research to increase our understanding of knowledge transfer in organizations.

中文翻译：

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组织内的知识转移：机制、动机和考虑因素


知识转移（一个单位从另一个单位的经验中学习或受另一个单位的经验影响的程度）有可能提高组织的绩效。通过知识转移，组织中一个单位的发展可以使其他单位受益。然而，研究发现，跨组织单位的知识转移程度存在很大差异。在某些情况下，知识可以无缝转移，而在另一些情况下，知识转移还远未完成。本文回顾了研究，旨在解释知识转移中观察到的变化。解释这种差异的关键因素包括知识转移机会、知识特征、知识转移机制、转移动机以及知识考虑的深度。这些因素被整合到一个理论框架中，预测知识转移何时会成功。本文最后讨论了未来研究的方向，以增加我们对组织中知识转移的理解。