The work that this thesis is a result of has the ambition to suggest a model forknowledge transfer to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). The knowledge in focus here is competitive production methods such as: leanproduction, six sigma, continuous improvement, total quality management ortotal productivity maintenance.To invest in research in the SMEs, that often are the larger company’ssuppliers, gives effects in the entire supply chain. Another point of view is thatbigger companies are often divided into smaller sub-units that in many casesare more or less autonomous and have, in a sense, SME characteristics.There are some main problems that are identified: • The relation between the numbers of SMEs compared to the number ofknowledge transfer teachers regarding newly developed methods is togreat. • In many cases the methods need to be adjusted to fit SMEs regardingthe difference to larger companies. • “The Learning Paradox”, i.e. that the companies need to know aboutexisting methods and their potentials before they can ask forknowledge about them. • “The Swedish Paradox”, i.e. that little effect comes out from theresearch conducted in Sweden and the research and transfer processesmust be more effective.• There is also a lack of understanding regarding the importance ofSMEs and the need for supporting activities in their companydevelopment activities. • The competition is becoming harder because many companies learn touse different production methods more systematically to obtaincompetitive advantages. The overall aim with the work presented in this thesis is to create improvedconditions and understanding regarding knowledge transfer of competitivemanufacturing methods to Swedish SMEs. The objective with this thesis is to suggest a knowledge transfer model that issuitable to the current problem description and is also built on state-of-the artknowledge regarding knowledge transfer.A literature review with the objective to seek current knowledge of knowledgemanagement has been carried out. The process of knowledge creation ofcompetitive production methods and transfer to SMEs cover many researchfields. The width of the area for this thesis requires a multidisciplinaryapproach were the knowledge transfer process has been illuminated withindifferent topics.The different methods have different abilities to support knowledge ortechnology transfer. The different factors have not been weighted in thisanalysis but imply that networks, e-learning, the IVF model, publications andcourses are more effective ways for knowledge transfer to SMEs.To be able to perform an effective knowledge transfer different activities andknowledge needs to be connected into a system or in a context. Once theknowledge is created it is transferable to companies. The DCT-model is arepeatable systematic approach that has three steps: 1) Dissemination, 2)Clustering, and 3) Transfer.There are still activities to do before the model is both valid and verified (ifnow the model is a solution to the problem). The following activities andquestions are planned to be done in the doctoral work: • The problem description in this thesis must be validated and verified. • Does the DCT-model need to be further developed regarding eventualchanges in the problem description? • What type of method shall be used in order to verify the DCT-model?This will be one of the major research questions in the doctoral work. • How does the DCT-model work? And: How effective is it? / QC 20110114

The construction industry is facing an alteration of generations in the years to come and even though knowledge transfer has been studied since the 1990’s many companies are still struggling to improve their knowledge strategy. For construction companies this is even more problematic due to the nature of the industry. The construction industry is characterized by project-based organizations where project members are changed in almost every project. Working under similar conditions are consultants, and some consultancies are notable for managing their knowledge well. By benchmarking three notable consultancies against a construction consultancy, some key success factors of the consultancies’ knowledge transfer were found and applied on the construction consultancy. The study is characterized by Hansen et al.’s (1999) codification and personalization strategies, which say that knowledge should either be stored in technical databases or shared through social interaction. A literature review of the three consultancies was conducted and the study of the construction consultancy was based on interviews and observations. The companies’ knowledge processes were then described and categorized into technical and social infrastructure. Where similar strategies have been used in the three consultancies, these have been analyzed to be their key success factors in knowledge management. These factors are summarized as: 1) Clear and standardized routines. 2) User friendly and up-to-date technical systems. 3) Global interaction and collaboration. 4) An organizational culture of knowledge sharing. Based on the four key success factors and previous literature on the subject some suggestions for improvement at the construction company were compiled. Even though the four studied organizations all are management consultants their way of working differs. Since three consultancies were studied it should provide a certain range of advice and recommendations that can be adapted to different organizations. The key success factors analyzed are also mostly connected to large, global organizations working under projected-based conditions, which also should be applicable to numerous companies. The findings are therefore believed to be useful for consultancies as well as construction companies. / Byggindustrin står under de kommande åren inför ett generationsskifte, och trots att kunskapsåterföring har varit ett känt ämne sedan 1990-talet kämpar fortfarande många företag med att förbättra sin kunskapsstrategi. I byggföretag är detta ännu mer problematiskt på grund av industrins natur. Byggindustrin karaktäriseras nämligen av projektbaserade organisationer där projektmedlemmarna byts ut till varje projekt. Konsulter jobbar under liknande förhållanden, och det finns några konsultföretag som är kända för att hantera sin kunskap på ett bra sätt. Genom att jämföra (genom benchmarking) tre kända konsultbolag med ett byggkonsultföretag är några nyckelfaktorer för konsultbolagens framgång i kunskapsåterföring framtagna, och dessa är sedan applicerade på byggkonsultföretaget. Studien präglas av Hansen m. fl.:s (1999) kodifikations- och personaliseringsstrategi, vilka innebär att kunskap antingen ska lagras i tekniska databaser eller delas genom social interaktion. En litteraturstudie av tre kända konsultbolag utfördes och studien av byggkonsultföretaget baserades på intervjuer och observationer. Företagens kunskapsprocesser beskrevs sedan och kategoriserades som teknisk och social infrastruktur. Där liknande strategier observerades i alla tre företagen har dessa analyserats som deras nyckelfaktorer för lyckad hantering av kunskap. Nyckelfaktorerna kan sammanfattas enligt följande: 1) Tydliga och standardiserade rutiner. 2) Användarvänliga och uppdaterade tekniska system. 3) Globalt samarbete och interaktion. 4) En kunskapsspridande företagskultur. Baserat på dessa fyra nyckelfaktorer och även på studerad litteratur i ämnet var några förbättringsförlag till byggkonsultföretaget framtagna. Trots att de fyra företagen alla är managementkonsulter så arbetar de på väldigt olika sätt. Eftersom tre konsultföretag var undersökta så borde det ge en bred variation av förslag som skulle kunna bli anpassade till olika sorters organisationers behov. De analyserade nyckelfaktorerna är framförallt kopplade till stora globala organisationer som arbetar under projektbaserade förhållanden, vilket borde gälla för många typer utav företag. Resultatet borde därför vara användbart för konsultbolag, men även för byggföretag.

The construction industry is facing an alteration of generations in the years to come and even though knowledge transfer has been studied since the 1990’s many companies are still struggling to improve their knowledge strategy. For construction companies this is even more problematic due to the nature of the industry. The construction industry is characterized by project-based organizations where project members are changed in almost every project. Working under similar conditions are consultants, and some consultancies are notable for managing their knowledge well. By benchmarking three notable consultancies against a construction consultancy, some key success factors of the consultancies’ knowledge transfer were found and applied on the construction consultancy. The study is characterized by Hansen et al.’s (1999) codification and personalization strategies, which say that knowledge should either be stored in technical databases or shared through social interaction. A literature review of the three consultancies was conducted and the study of the construction consultancy was based on interviews and observations. The companies’ knowledge processes were then described and categorized into technical and social infrastructure. Where similar strategies have been used in the three consultancies, these have been analyzed to be their key success factors in knowledge management. These factors are summarized as: 1) Clear and standardized routines. 2) User friendly and up-to-date technical systems. 3) Global interaction and collaboration. 4) An organizational culture of knowledge sharing. Based on the four key success factors and previous literature on the subject some suggestions for improvement at the construction company were compiled. Even though the four studied organizations all are management consultants their way of working differs. Since three consultancies were studied it should provide a certain range of advice and recommendations that can be adapted to different organizations. The key success factors analyzed are also mostly connected to large, global organizations working under projected-based conditions, which also should be applicable to numerous companies. The findings are therefore believed to be useful for consultancies as well as construction companies. / Byggindustrin står under de kommande åren inför ett generationsskifte, och trots att kunskapsåterföring har varit ett känt ämne sedan 1990-talet kämpar fortfarande många företag med att förbättra sin kunskapsstrategi. I byggföretag är detta ännu mer problematiskt på grund av industrins natur. Byggindustrin karaktäriseras nämligen av projektbaserade organisationer där projektmedlemmarna byts ut till varje projekt. Konsulter jobbar under liknande förhållanden, och det finns några konsultföretag som är kända för att hantera sin kunskap på ett bra sätt. Genom att jämföra (genom benchmarking) tre kända konsultbolag med ett byggkonsultföretag är några nyckelfaktorer för konsultbolagens framgång i kunskapsåterföring framtagna, och dessa är sedan applicerade på byggkonsultföretaget. Studien präglas av Hansen m. fl.:s (1999) kodifikations- och personaliseringsstrategi, vilka innebär att kunskap antingen ska lagras i tekniska databaser eller delas genom social interaktion. En litteraturstudie av tre kända konsultbolag utfördes och studien av byggkonsultföretaget baserades på intervjuer och observationer. Företagens kunskapsprocesser beskrevs sedan och kategoriserades som teknisk och social infrastruktur. Där liknande strategier observerades i alla tre företagen har dessa analyserats som deras nyckelfaktorer för lyckad hantering av kunskap. Nyckelfaktorerna kan sammanfattas enligt följande: 1) Tydliga och standardiserade rutiner. 2) Användarvänliga och uppdaterade tekniska system. 3) Globalt samarbete och interaktion. 4) En kunskapsspridande företagskultur. Baserat på dessa fyra nyckelfaktorer och även på studerad litteratur i ämnet var några förbättringsförlag till byggkonsultföretaget framtagna. Trots att de fyra företagen alla är managementkonsulter så arbetar de på väldigt olika sätt. Eftersom tre konsultföretag var undersökta så borde det ge en bred variation av förslag som skulle kunna bli anpassade till olika sorters organisationers behov. De analyserade nyckelfaktorerna är framförallt kopplade till stora globala organisationer som arbetar under projektbaserade förhållanden, vilket borde gälla för många typer utav företag. Resultatet borde därför vara användbart för konsultbolag, men även för byggföretag.

Storföretag står inför en ständig utmaning att utöka sina innovationsutvecklingsmöjligheter. På grund av detta är det en ökande trend hos storföretag idag att implementera interna inkubatorer. I interna inkubatorer är samarbeten med externa parter vanligt förekommande, vilket leder till vikten av kunskapsöverföring som en förutsättning för kunskapsintegration. Det är därför av intresse att undersöka de faktorer som påverkar kunskapsöverföring i interna inkubatorer, samt vilken roll kunskapsöverföring har i interna inkubatorers arbete att skapa innovation samt hur kunskapsöverföring skiljer sig mellan interna medarbetare och storföretaget samt externa parter och storföretaget. Syftet med denna studie är att redogöra för hur storföretags interna inkubatorer arbetar med kunskapsöverföring med intern och extern kunskap samt hur det bidrar till att skapa innovation. Denna fallstudie har genomförts med en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi och ett hermeneutistiskt hermeneutiskt perspektiv. Empiri har samlats in med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem respondenter som arbetar på fallföretaget som har god kunskap om, och insikt i, fallföretagets interna inkubators verksamhet. I fallet har inre motivation, tillit samt tid och stress framkommit vara påverkande faktorer för kunskapsöverföring i fallföretagets lokala inkubator (den interna inkubatorns förstadie) och i sin tur skapandet av innovation. En modell har framställts som visar faktorer som påverkar kunskapsöverföring och illustrerar kunskapsöverföringens roll i fallföretagets lokala inkubator. Vi ser även absorptionsförmåga som en förutsättning hos den mottagande enheten för att kunskapsöverföring ska kunna genomföras. En grundläggande faktor är även typ av kunskap det som ska överföras, det vill säga tacit eller explicit. I dagsläget framgår ingen tydlig process för kunskapsöverföring i fallföretagets lokala inkubator vilket indikerar att fallföretaget inte tar hänsyn till om kunskapsöverföringen avser intern eller extern kunskap. / Large corporations face a constant challenge to expand their innovation development opportunities. Due to this, there is an increasing trend among large corporations today to implement corporate incubators. In corporate incubators, collaborations with external parties are common, which leads to the importance of knowledge transfer as a prerequisite for knowledge integration. It is therefore of interest to investigate the factors that affect knowledge transfer in corporate incubators, the role of knowledge transfer in corporate incubators' work to create innovation and how knowledge transfer differs between internal employees and the large corporation as well as external parties and the large corporation. The purpose of this study is to account for how large corporations' corporate incubators work with knowledge transfer with internal and external knowledge and how it contributes to creating innovation. This case study has been conducted with a qualitative research strategy and a hermeneutic perspective. Empirical data has been collected with the help of semi-structured interviews with five people working at the case corporation who possesses good knowledge of, and insight into, the case corporation's corporate incubator operation. In this case, internal motivation, trust, time and stress have emerged as influencing factors for knowledge transfer in the case corporation's local incubator (the corporate incubator's pre-stage) and in turn the creation of innovation. A model has been constructed that shows factors that affect knowledge transfer and illustrates the role of knowledge transfer in the case corporation's local incubator. We also see absorptive capacity as a prerequisite for the receiving unit in order for knowledge transfer to be carried out. A fundamental factor is also the type of knowledge that is to be transferred, i.e. tacit or explicit. At present, there is no clear process for knowledge transfer in the case corporation's local incubator, which indicates that the case corporation does not take into account whether the knowledge transfer refers to internal or external knowledge.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur projektdeltagare upplever övergången till distansarbete som skedde i och med Covid-19 pandemin och om de upplever att det hade inflytande på kunskapsöverföringen i projekt. Genomen en kvalitativ ansats genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med 10 projektdeltagare som sedan tematiskt analyserades. De teman som uppträdde var ”Ett tveeggat svärd”, ”Kompass i mörkret” samt ”Kalejdoskop av framtiden”. Resultatet visar att distansarbetet i hög grad uppskattas och att motivationen till kunskapsöverföring förblev oförändrade. De största utmaningarna är att den sociala aspekten i viss mån försvinner och det är svårare att tolka kroppsspråk och ansiktsuttryck. Slutsatsen är att oavsett digitala verktyg är det fortfarande människan som står i centrum, och digitala verktyg ska anpassas till att passa in i sin kontext och sitt syfte för att kunskapsöverföringen ska kunna bibehållas vid distansarbete. / The purpose of this study is to examine how project participants experience the transition to remote work that took place with the Covid-19 pandemic and whether they experience that it had an influence on the knowledge transfer within projects. Through a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 project participants, which were then thematically analyzed. The themes appeared were “A double-edged sword”, “Compass in the darkness” and “Kaleidoscope of the future”. The results show that remote work is greatly appreciated and that the motivation for knowledge transfer remained unchanged. The biggest challenges are that the social aspect disappears to some extent and it is more difficult to interpret body language and facial expressions. The conclusion is that regardless of digital tools, it is still the human beings who is at the center, and digital tools must be adapted to fit into their context and purpose so that the knowledge transfer can be maintained in remote work.

Background: Due to the increased knowledge gaps that originate from rapid technological change, many organizations are in need of consulting services. As of this, the consulting market has had rapid growth, which has caught the attention of scholars. Previous research has identified an interface between knowledge and identity as two prominent concepts when analyzing the client-consultant relationship. Despite this, there is still a great lack of empirical insights regarding how these two concepts might affect this relationship. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore knowledge transfer within the client-consultant relationship by applying the lens of role identity. Furthermore, the research aimed to increase the understanding of the barriers to knowledge transfer, where they originate from,and how to overcome them. Method: This research is of a qualitative sort, where abductive reasoning has been applied in order to fulfill our research purpose. Furthermore, a single case study approach was conducted and data was gathered from interviews with both consultants and clients. The gathered data was analyzed by using grounded analysis, where insights have been identified by creating 1st order concepts, 2nd order themes and aggregated dimensions. Conclusion: The result of this study indicates that different idiosyncratic and conventional role identity meanings create mismatches within the client-consultant relationship. The concept of role identity ambiguity creates barriers for securing knowledge transfer within the client-consultant relationship, and knowledge transfer outcomes affect future role identity meanings. The result of this study contributes to already existing literature regarding role identity, knowledge transfer and the client-consultant relationship. Furthermore, the study presents managerial implications that will increase consultants' understanding of the barriers and suggestions for how to overcome them.

In recent years, there has been an increase in women securing leadership positions across Canadian sport. However, when compared with their male counterparts, there continues to be an imbalance of women in these roles. The purpose of this doctoral dissertation was to evaluate a social learning initiative implemented in the province of Alberta to address these existing gender disparities by increasing gender equity, leadership development/diversity, and knowledge transfer across sport systems. The Alberta Women in Sport Leadership Impact Program (AWiSL) was framed using Wenger’s (1998) concept Communities of Practice and consisted of 12 sport leaders (from various PSOs, clubs, and other sport organizations) and six mentors (with leadership expertise). Each sport leader planned and implemented a project in their home sport organizations to support the increase of gender equity and leadership development/diversity. The mentors were responsible for supporting the sport leaders in achieving their project goals and facilitating leadership development opportunities to inspire growth in the sport leaders. Accordingly, an evaluation was conducted using the Value Creation Framework (Wenger-Trayner et al., 2011) to examine the perceived value of participating in this social learning initiative. Data were collected over a year and a half period, from the 18 members who made up the AWiSL group and other important stakeholders. The data included in-depth interviews, informal conversations, observations, surveys, and collecting organizational documents resulting in over 700 pages of transcribed data. The findings are presented in four articles and an additional findings section. The first article focuses on one of the sport leader’s projects which aimed to foster a collaborative women-only training program for 10 women to become certified coach developers. The second article examines the development of the AWiSL mentors’ social learning leadership capabilities during their first attempt at facilitating a CoP to promote gender equity and leadership development/diversity, through an action learning approach. The third article delves into the sport leaders’ perceptions of their leadership skill development through their participation in the two and a half year social learning initiative, specifically a CoP of femininity. Finally, the fourth article highlights the 12 sport leaders’ projects to examine the impacts of the AWiSL in terms of moving gender equity forward across the province. The additional findings section touches on the knowledge transfer outcome of the AWiSL, including the development of a how-to model for organizations wishing to implement a similar initiative and the overall perceived value of this initiative. The dissertation is concluded with a general discussion highlighting the theoretical contributions and practical implications, along with future recommendations for research.

Information Systems (IS) offshoring is the transfer of IS services to a service provider outside the service consumer’s home country. The increasing amount of IS offshoring publications over the last years confirm the increasing interest in this topic. Furthermore, the transfer of knowledge from client to service provider poses major challenges in IS offshoring projects and directly affects IS offshoring success. Therefore, associated challenges must be overcome to achieve the resulting benefits. The dissertation aims to fill research gaps by investigating the following research questions: (1) What is the state of research in IS offshoring? (2) What are the characteristics of individuals conducting the knowledge transfer in an IS offshoring context? and (3) which determinants influence the knowledge transfer in IS offshoring? The answer to RQ1 aims to provide a conceptualization and the theoretical underpinning of the research field including a consolidated state of IS offshoring research. The results indicate that IS offshoring research is largely non-theory based, using almost entirely empirical data and interpretive research methods and - to a smaller extent - positivist research designs. The ISO research of the last 15 years focuses on the implementation stages 'how' and 'outcome' while the pre-implementation stages “why”, “what”, and “which” are comparatively sparsely researched. Future studies should apply a more theory-driven approach with a greater attention on pre- implementation aspects of information systems offshoring. RQ2 aims to understand the crucial role individuals must fulfill within the knowledge transfer process. The participants of the study agreed, with strong consensus, on a set of 16 tasks and 15 skills. The tasks focused primarily on relationship management and facilitating knowledge transfer on different levels. The set of skills consists of approximately 25 per cent “hard” skills, e.g. professional language skills and project management skills, and approximately 75 per cent “soft” skills, e.g. interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to deal with conflict. Two factors mainly influence implementing the offshore coordinator role: project size and the number of projects to be supported simultaneously. RQ3 aims to answer which determinants influence knowledge transfer in positive and negative ways. We identified 19 success and 20 failure determinants. These determinants are ranked in order of importance using best-worst scaling. Aspects of closer cooperation are critical for effective knowledge transfer. This includes regular collaboration, willingness to help and support, and mutual trust. In contrast, critical determinants of failure are concerned with fears and fluctuation of human resources. Hidden ambiguities or knowledge gaps, an unwillingness and disability to share knowledge, and high fluctuation of human resources negatively impact knowledge transfer. Overall, the dissertation consists of seven consecutive research articles. The results contribute to the understanding of IS offshoring in general and knowledge transfer in IS offshoring projects in detail. Furthermore, the results can facilitate organizations in ensuring their IS offshoring projects succeed.

Public affairs professionals are responsible for monitoring the sociopolitical environment and using information strategies to respond to public policy proposals on behalf of firms and organizations. To develop, implement, and legitimize public policy, lawmakers and public administrators rely on the input from external experts and stakeholders. The purpose of this research was to explore how public affairs engage with healthcare intraorganizational stakeholders to leverage their knowledge for information strategies. Knowledge transfer served as a theoretical framework through a qualitative multiple case study of 3 healthcare delivery organizations in the upper Midwest of the United States. Primary data were collected using semistructured interviews from public affairs (n = 11) and healthcare professionals (n = 18). Organizational documents and public records were reviewed to understand the internal interaction of public affairs and the development of information strategies. Patterns and themes emerged through cross case synthesis, presented as a process-based model and theory. Public affairs functions were structured inconsistently in all case sites. Decision-making processes primarily involved nonpublic affairs stakeholders approving information products. Intraorganizational engagement and knowledge transfer was found as ad-hoc and consistent, through a blending of informal and formal methods. Practitioner strategies, tactics, and challenges were identified to facilitate internal interaction. This study provides insight to improving public affairs practice and supports linking the expertise of healthcare stakeholders to policymaking. Improving the healthcare delivery system through public policymaking is fostered through aligning policy with the knowledge of healthcare professional practice.

Approximately 50% of New York City hospitals lack succession planning as baby boomers transition out of the workforce into retirement. The potential loss of knowledge capital could affect leadership development and corporate stability. Guided by the transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this single site case study was to explore successful strategies executive-level leaders used to facilitate succession planning within their hospital. Three hospital executive-level leaders from a single site location participated in a semistructured face-to-face interview and provided data that assisted the analysis. Four themes emerged from the data analysis through a word cloud format that showed the most commonly used words and phrases from participants' responses to interview questions and review of company succession planning documents. The themes were organizational strategies used to promote executive-level succession planning, encouraging peer-mentorship, knowledge sharing strategies, and talent management. The findings revealed that the participants' organization lacked formal succession planning strategies, but policies were in place that promoted in-house training and development to prepare the next generation of executive-level leaders. The findings of this study can contribute to positive social change by providing a work-related environment that embraces knowledge sharing and leadership development to increase leadership performance, income, and productivity, to ensure a better quality of life for employees and to improve the healthcare of patients and the community served.