Ted Foos

Tacit knowledge transfer and the knowledge disconnect

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at some of the factors that influence the transfer of tacit knowledge between two product development partners.Design/methodology/approach – Research involved the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data was based on 13 interviews with various individuals, representing three companies, charged with integrating external technology. The quantitative portion of the data was collected through an online survey. The survey was executed by soliciting responses from managers of 39 discreet projects involving various types of external technology integration, representing five different companies.Findings – The paper provides evidence that trust, early involvement, and due diligence influence the extent of meeting technology transfer expectations and tacit knowledge transfer expectations. It also finds that the subject of tacit knowledge transfer, content and process, is poorly understood. While managers and project leaders saw the val...