Knowledge Management
• Gaining Knowledge
– Technology Transfer
• Between Organizations
• Within Organizations
– Gatekeepers
• Disseminating Knowledge
– Technical Communication
• Organization Structure
• Physical Structure of Facilities
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What do we know about technology transfer?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
It is a 'people process'.
Transferring documentation is, at best, an auxiliary process.
People must be in direct contact and understand each other to
transfer knowledge.
The best 'package' for knowledge is the human mind.
Moving people is the most effective way to move knowledge
This can imply either organizational or geographical movement.
Organizational boundaries impose a serious barrier to the
transfer of technology
This is due to the development of different organizational
cultures.
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The Context of the Study
X X X
X X
Project Team
Organization
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Sources of Technology
Outside
Experts
X X X
X X
Internal
Staff
Literature
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'Twin' Projects
X X X
X X
X X X
X X
Company 'B'
Company 'A'
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Literature & Documentation
Outside
Experts
X X X
X X
Internal
Staff
Literature
18%
4%
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People as Sources of
Technology
Outside
Experts
2X
X X X
X X
1X
Internal
Staff
Literature
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Technology Sources for Product Development Projects
People Outside
People Inside
All Written Material
0
10
20
30
40
Proportion of Messages
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50
60
References
Allen, Thomas J., 1984. Managing the
Flow of Technology: Technology
Transfer and the Dissemination of
Technological Information within the R
and D Organization, MIT Press,
Cambridge, MA.
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