Author(s):
1. Adrienn Ferincz, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
2. Melinda Somlai, 3. Lilla Hortoványi, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary

Abstract:
Knowledge management intends to increase the innovativeness and the responsiveness of the organization (Hackbarth, 1998), by making the knowledge visible and showing its role in an organization, or by developing a knowledge-intensive culture or by building a knowledge infrastructure besides a technical system, to help people interact and collaborate (Davenport and Prusak, 1998). As a crucial part of knowledge management processes, also knowledge transfer should be defined. In psychology, knowledge transfer is the ability to extend a person’s experiences learned earlier and knowledge acquired in one situation to new contexts and in other situations (Singley and Anderson, 1989). Authors investigate in this paper the following research questions: Are the different dimensions of knowledge transfer connected to each other? Do they need to present at once in order to knowledge transfer be effective? Authors applied exploratory research based on three case studies; they have chosen three Hungarian small- and middle size companies from different industries to investigate. All the middle and top managers and also some front-line managers and employees were interviewed in each case. Authors applied QSR NVivo software in order to analyze data. The main contribution of this paper is that, however the three dimensions of knowledge transfer had been examined separately in previous research, however, based on authors finding they are highly interconnected in an organization. Throughout the case studies it can be noticed that for example cognitive and motivational dimensions are strongly related to each other. Individuals with similar cognitive abilities are more motivated to exchange their knowledge. However between people with different cognitive abilities, various power games appeared. Thus in many cases motivation is rooted in the cognitive dimension. To develop organizational knowledge and organizational learning capacity, it is not sufficient to increase only the level of ICT devices. That is, the purchase of new hardwares (tablets, servers, smart phones, etc.) and softwares (applications, database managers, etc.) itself does not increase the organization's knowledge base. Moreover, if an organization already has several systems, and these systems operate in an isolated way, the introduction of new non-integrated systems may reduce the efficiency and increase the resistance against devices. To get over the resistance against innovations, it is not enough to introduce new ICT tools, but the fear and uncertainty must be treated with respect as well. It is considered to be more management and change management tasks, rather than informatic problems.

Key words:
knowledge transfer, intellectual capital, interpersonal relationships, motivation

Date of abstract submission:
19.11.2013.

Conference:
REDETE 2014 - Researching Economic Development and Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies