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With the rise of the gig economy, management positions are increasingly staffed with flexible labor, so-called interim managers. They plunge into organizations for a limited period, operating in a liminal position as partly insider, partly outsider. Although several contributions to their client organizations are acknowledged, it is unknown how the interim manager’s knowledge from previous assignments is made useful in the new context under these particular working conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of how the interim manager’s knowledge is transferred to the client organization while operating from a liminal position.

This paper presents an interview-based multiple case study of six interim assignments where knowledge transfer is considered a social and context-dependent process.

The findings unveil the multifaceted nature of the liminal position, which consists of task orientation, time limitation, political detachment and cultural distance. These facets contribute to knowledge transfer in terms of new shared understandings and joint interests, which in turn might create new practices that augment continuous knowledge-sharing patterns.

The results contribute to the research on flexible work arrangements by shedding light on how the liminal position, predominantly depicted as an obstacle for the individual, might facilitate knowledge transfer. Through the process of knowledge generation, it is shown how a short-term engagement might enable the organization to increase its knowledge over time.

Despite the knowledge transfer between projects has received increasing attention from scholars, few scholars still conduct comprehensive research on inter-project knowledge transfer from both horizontal and vertical perspectives. Besides, knowledge transfer is affected by multiple antecedent conditions, and these factors should be combined for analysis. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the key factors influencing knowledge transfer between projects using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method from both horizontal and vertical perspectives and how these factors combine to improve the effectiveness of knowledge transfer (EKT) between projects.

First, nine factors affecting knowledge transfer between projects were identified, which were from the four dimensions of subject, relationship, channel, and context, namely temporary nature (TN), time urgency (TU), transmit willingness (TW), receive willingness (RW), trust (TR), project-project transfer channels (PPC), project-enterprise transfer channels (PEC), organizational atmosphere (OA), and motivation system (MS). Then, the source of the samples was determined and the data from the respondents was collected for analysis. Following the operation steps of the fsQCA method, variable calibration, single condition necessity analysis, and configuration analysis were carried out. After that, the configurations of influencing factors were obtained and the robustness test was conducted.

The results of the fsQCA method show that there are five configurations that can obtain better EKT between projects. Configuration 3 (∼TN * ∼TU * TW * RW * TR * ∼PPC * PEC * MS) has the highest consistency, indicating that it has the highest degree of the explanatory variable subset. Configuration 1 (∼TN * ∼TU * TW * RW * PEC * OA * MS) has the highest coverage, meaning that this configuration can explain most cases. Also, the five configurations were divided into three types: vertical transfer, horizontal-vertical transfer, and channel-free transfer category.

Firstly, this study explores the key factors influencing knowledge transfer between projects from four dimensions, which presents the logical chain of influencing factors more clearly. Then, this study divided the five configurations obtained into three categories according to the transfer direction: vertical, horizontal-vertical, and channel-free transfer, which gives implications to focus on both horizontal knowledge transfer (HKT) and (VKT) when studying knowledge transfer between projects. Lastly, this study helps to realize the exploration of combined improvement strategies for EKT, thereby providing meaningful recommendations for enterprises and project teams to facilitate knowledge transfer between projects.

This study aims to examine the impact of knowledge and skills acquisition from youth leadership programs on the extent of training transfer. Additionally, it explores the role of self-esteem as a potential intervening mechanism in linking the acquired knowledge and skills to the transfer of training.

Using a non-probability purposive sampling, data were gathered from participants of youth leadership programs in Brunei. The study hypotheses were validated using multiple linear regression analysis and Hayes PROCESS macro.

The findings revealed that knowledge and skills acquisition positively affect the extent of training transfer among youth leadership program participants. Moreover, self-esteem is found to be a crucial mediator in the relationship between knowledge and skills acquired from youth leadership programs and the extent of training transfer.

The study suggests that to optimize the transfer of training in the youth leadership programs, relevant stakeholders – training providers, and practitioners – must prioritize not only the knowledge and skills acquisition but also the cultivation of participants’ self-esteem. To achieve this, a primary focus should be placed on the criticality of designing such programs to address these factors. Policymakers, particularly in Brunei, can enhance the leadership pipeline among the youth population and expedite progress toward achieving the national vision by aligning leadership development initiatives with the broader national development agenda.

Collectively, this study enhances understanding of training transfer in youth leadership development, an often-overlooked area in the literature.

Integrating anxiety and uncertainty management (AUM) theory and theory of organizing, this study aims to contribute to the knowledge management literature by examining the interdependent and bidirectional nature of knowledge transfer between expatriates and host country nationals (HCNs). Specifically, the authors investigate how receivers’ cognitive response to senders’ behaviors during their interactions becomes an important conduit between senders’ behaviors and the successful transfer of knowledge.

The authors used the actor partner interdependence model to analyze data from 107 expatriate-HCN dyads. The authors collected the responses of these expatriate-HCN dyads in Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and India.

Receivers’ interaction anxiety and uncertainty, as a response to senders’ relationship building behaviors, mediate the relationship between senders’ relationship building behaviors and successful knowledge transfer. When senders are expatriates, senders’ communication patience and relationship building behaviors interact to reduce the direct and indirect effects of both receivers’ interaction anxiety and uncertainty. However, when senders are HCNs, the moderation and moderated mediation models are not supported.

The study contributes to the knowledge management literature by investigating knowledge transfer between expatriates and HCNs using an interpersonal cross-cultural communication lens. The authors make refinements to AUM theory by going beyond the sender role to highlighting the interdependence between senders and receivers in the management of anxiety and uncertainty which, in turn, influences the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication. The study is also unique in that the authors underscore an important yet understudied construct, communication patience, in the successful transfer of knowledge.

This study aims to explore the mediating role of the motivation for learning in knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer in students of higher education programs in business and management.

Quantitative correlational design. Data was collected from a sample of 366 students studying and working in the business and entrepreneurial sector in Ecuador. The instrument used was a Likert scale questionnaire. Correlation analyses were used to specify the relationships between variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

The results evidenced the mediating effect of the motivation for learning on the relationship between knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer of undergraduate and graduate students in higher education programs in the area of business and entrepreneurship.

The model investigated is a contribution to the literature since the variables have been little studied by the students as transfer channels, and there is a need to explore these relationships between variables in other productive sectors.

Organizations will be able to identify relevant factors in knowledge transfer, the motivation for learning for the context of working, create ideal conditions for knowledge flow and maintain a commitment to take advantage of this cooperation.

The results contribute to the three agents involved in knowledge transfer: students, educational institutions and organizations. Students can have a greater understanding of the skills they need to improve their learning and application of knowledge. Educational institutions will have a better understanding of and approach to developing competencies in their students.

This simple regression model enriches the current literature on the mediating effect of the motivation for learning on the relationship between knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer in higher education institutions in Latin American countries.

In the digital economy era, digital platforms are vital infrastructure for innovation subjects to perform digital innovation activities. Achieving efficient and smooth knowledge transfer between innovation subjects through digital platforms has become a novel research subject. This study aims to examine the knowledge transfer mechanism of digital platforms in the digital innovation ecosystem through modeling and simulation to offer a theoretical basis for digital innovation subjects to acquire digital value through knowledge-sharing and thus augment their competitive advantage.

This study explores the optimal symbiotic interaction rate between different users based on the classic susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) model. Additionally, it constructs a knowledge transfer mechanism model for digital platforms in the digital innovation ecosystem by combining the theories of communication dynamics and symbiosis. Finally, Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) software is used for the model and numerical simulation.

The results demonstrate that (1) the evolutionary path of the symbiotic model is key to digital platforms' knowledge transfer in the digital innovation ecosystem. In the symbiotic model, the knowledge transfer path of digital platforms is “independent symbiosis—biased symbiosis (user benefit)—reciprocal symbiosis,” aligning with the overall interests of the digital innovation ecosystem. (2) Digital platforms' knowledge transfer effects within the digital innovation ecosystem show significant differences. The most effective knowledge transfer model for digital platforms is reciprocal symbiosis, whereas the least effective is parochial symbiosis (platform benefit). (3) The symbiotic rate has a significant positive impact on the evolutionary dynamics of knowledge transfer on digital platforms, especially in the reciprocal symbiosis model.

This study's results aid digital innovators in achieving efficient knowledge transfer through digital platforms and identify how symbiotic relationships affect the knowledge transfer process across the ecosystem. Accordingly, the authors propose targeted recommendations to promote the efficiency of knowledge transfer on digital platforms.

This study aims to examine the relationships among structured-on-the job training (ST), mentoring, job rotation and the work environment factors on tacit knowledge transfer from training.

This study used quantitative research techniques to examine the causal relationships among the key study variables. A questionnaire-based survey has developed to evaluate the research model by drawing a convenience sample includes 239 employees working in the Arab Potash Company located in Jordan. Surveyed data were examined following the structural equation modeling procedures.

The results revealed that adapting of the ST, mentoring and job rotation in industrial firms had direct effect on the employees’ abilities to learn and transfer tacit knowledge from training to the actual work, and how these learning strategies strengthen employees’ abilities in solving work problems, improving customers’ satisfaction and quality of products and services. As well as, it affirmed the strong direct effect of work environment factors such as supervisor and peer support on the employees’ abilities to learning and transferring tacit knowledge to their jobs. However, this study showed that work environment factors have no significant mediating role on the relationship among ST, mentoring, job rotation and the employees’ abilities to learn and transfer tacit knowledge to their jobs.

The study results are opening the doors for future studies to examine the relationships among the methods of training and learning in the workplace, the work environment factors and tacit knowledge transfer from training to the jobs as prerequisites for improving the employees and organization performance. These results would be validated by conducting future research, examining larger samples of industrial companies to give more accurate data and clear explanations to the relationships among the study variables. It also suggests to replace the characteristics of work environment (supervisor support and peer support) by trainees’ characteristics (self-efficacy and career commitment) to give a better understanding to the relationships among the key study variables.

With regard to improving the employees’ competency while doing their jobs, this study developed a conceptual framework that guides managers to recognize the importance of ST, mentoring and job rotation in increasing the employees’ learning together; and giving them the chance to use the new learned experiences and knowledge to improve the organization performance and its competitive advantage. This study helps managers build a positive work environment that encourages social interaction, respect and mutual interest among employees, and increases their sense of responsibility for learning and transferring skills and knowledge to the jobs.

The training methods in the workplace go beyond immediate work performance to act as a promising tool make employees’ learning more easily and faster, and help them to transfer and retain new skills and knowledge, adapt with changing environments, build stronger relationships with stakeholders and at the same time, make the organizations ensure that employees comply with their societal goals.

The authors have noticed that large portions of the studies on training and human resources development neglected the role effect of (ST, mentoring and job rotation) on the tacit knowledge transfer from training to the jobs. Hence, these gaps in researches have motivated to develop a theoretical model that helps to examine the relationship between the two constructs. This study also suggests to examine the mediating role effects of work environment factors on the relationships among (ST, mentoring and job rotation) and tacit knowledge transfer, as well as it extends to examine the mediating role of work environment factors on transferring knowledge to jobs, attributed to the demographic variables such as gender, age, work experience and education level.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of relationship quality among team members in the project team on knowledge transfer effectiveness and analyze the role of organizational structure in the influencing process.

The hypotheses are verified by the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis using Smart PLS 3 software with the data collected from 236 questionnaire samples in Chinese construction industry.

The results indicate that relationship quality has a direct impact on knowledge transfer in project teams and centralization has a negative impact on relationship quality. Moreover, relationship quality plays a mediating role between centralization and knowledge transfer effectiveness and formalization plays a negative moderating role in the effect of relationship quality on knowledge transfer effectiveness.

This paper studies intra-project knowledge transfer from the perspective of relationship quality of project teams and explores the antecedent and moderating role of organizational structure in the influence of relationship quality on knowledge transfer.

The objective of this study is to analyze the process of reverse knowledge transfer (RKT) occurring in multinational companies (MNCs), examining whether headquarters' absorptive capacity and the human resource management (HRM) practices developed by the parent unit influence success.

The data were collected through a questionnaire completed by the human resource manager of multinational company (MNC) headquarters. The analysis has been carried out on a sample of 115 Spanish MNCs by using structural equation models (SEM).

The results indicate that a parent firm's absorptive capacity positively influences RKT and that, in turn, this absorptive capacity is greater if headquarters implement certain practices of employee staffing, training, participation and performance appraisal.

This study extends existing research on RKT by examining the absorptive capacity of headquarters. Its main contribution is to provide evidence that MNCs can improve their RKT through HRM practices developed by the parent unit. This is original because most studies on RKT focus on HRM practices used by subsidiaries.

This study aims to identify various factors that have driven the knowledge transfer process for succession purposes in family business since the 1920s and discuss their implications for advancing effective succession planning in this business sector for the next 100 years.

The paper reviews and synthesizes current research on knowledge transfer drivers in family business from 1923 to 2023 and draws out future perspectives on what will influence the knowledge-transferring process in the next 100 years.

Trust, organizational culture and environmental factors such as the need to create competitive advantages, technological advancement and new sources of knowledge have been identified as the most prominent drivers of knowledge transfer for effective succession in family business throughout the 1920–2020s. In the future, the ability to create value, the internationalization process and business innovations will play an essential role in knowledge-sharing among family and non-family members during succession.

The paper provides a review of past development and a future perspective on factors enhancing the effectiveness of knowledge transfer for succession in family firms.