Classic studies in the Sociology of the Professions have explored knowledge barriers across traditional forms of professionalism, quintessentially represented by medical doctors, lawyers, and university professors. Thus, the impact of distinctive professional identities and communal boundaries on processes of knowledge sharing have been well documented. More recently, however, many scholars have suggested that those classical analyses need to be revisited and reassessed (see for e.g. the recent call for papers of Teelken and colleagues at EGOS 2011, cf. also Evetts, 2006; Noordegraaf, 2007) in the light of three contemporary trends: a changing context of professional practice, the associated erosion of classic forms of professionalism, and the emergence of new forms. While classical studies have laid the foundation of our understanding of the conditions that render knowledge sharing across more established forms of professionalism problematic, the processes and potential barriers across more novel and hybrid forms are less clear (cf. Noordegraaf, 2007). In order to address this gap, this thesis presents a comparative investigation of expert knowledgesharing across professional boundaries in four cross-occupational teams in the English National Health Service; two of them primarily composed of established professionals and two of hybrid professionals. By analysing these two types of cross-occupational teams, this thesis’ contribution is the identification of a different configuration of knowledge barriers affecting the sharing of knowledge within the two forms of professionalism. These findings further highlight the existence of two very different ecologies of (inter) professional knowledge within established and hybrid forms of professionalism. First, distinctive knowledge bases underlie professional practice and interaction in established and hybrid forms of professionalism. For established forms knowledge is more substantive and disciplinary based, whereas for hybrid forms it is general and situated, and characterized by a syncretic use of different disciplines, theories, and information. Second, the types of indeterminacies that permeate the two types of ecologies also vary. While the more established forms of professionalism face higher levels of ambiguity (semantic indeterminacy), the more transient and hybrid forms of professionalism face higher levels of uncertainty (de re indeterminacy). Finally, the nature of professional boundaries is different between these two types. While in established forms of professionalism boundaries are relatively well defined, and hence recognizable; in hybrids forms they are vague and transient.

In the purest sense of the term, the transfer of knowledge deals with certain activities that attempt to pass on knowledge to another unit. In the course of globalization, companies seek nowadays the collaboration with other companies or organizations in developing countries, in order to benefit from several advantages like reduced labor costs. Next to that, a myriad of companies or organizations carry out projects with partners that are situated in developing countries, only with the attempt to fill the gap of knowledge between developed and developing world – knowledge that is particularly needed in those countries in order for them to reach certain standards of living and to keep up with the rapid development that takes place in other parts of the world. This paper investigates with the help of five selected cases the impact of the main influencing factors and barriers on the success of this type of knowledge transfer, as they are perceived by companies from developed countries. Thereby, this paper aims at providing information about their importance in the corresponding contexts and at giving inspiration on the ways these factors can be dealt with. The exploratory results suggest that by covering specific aspects from the beginning, the companies or organizations involved can overcome the majority of the factors and barriers. Furthermore, it is pointed out that the importance of each factor varies heavily depending on the context: the process of internal knowledge transfer requires the companies to concentrate their attention on different aspects than in the context of external knowledge transfer.

<p>In the purest sense of the term, the transfer of knowledge deals with certain activities that attempt to pass on knowledge to another unit. In the course of globalization, companies seek nowadays the collaboration with other companies or organizations in developing countries, in order to benefit from several advantages like reduced labor costs. Next to that, a myriad of companies or organizations carry out projects with partners that are situated in developing countries, only with the attempt to fill the gap of knowledge between developed and developing world – knowledge that is particularly needed in those countries in order for them to reach certain standards of living and to keep up with the rapid development that takes place in other parts of the world.</p><p>This paper investigates with the help of five selected cases the impact of the main influencing factors and barriers on the success of this type of knowledge transfer, as they are perceived by companies from developed countries. Thereby, this paper aims at providing information about their importance in the corresponding contexts and at giving inspiration on the ways these factors can be dealt with.</p><p>The exploratory results suggest that by covering specific aspects from the beginning, the companies or organizations involved can overcome the majority of the factors and barriers. Furthermore, it is pointed out that the importance of each factor varies heavily depending on the context: the process of internal knowledge transfer requires the companies to concentrate their attention on different aspects than in the context of external knowledge transfer.</p>

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Organizational learning has been a focus of scholars since 1970. Researchers have demonstrated that conducting postproject reviews to capture lessons learned significantly improves organizational learning. Guided by the concept of organizational learning, the purpose of this case study was to explore how 6 New York metropolitan organizational leaders used postproject reviews to prevent project managers from repeating the same mistakes, increasing cost and time overruns, and experiencing project failure. Semistructured face-to-face and phone interviews were conducted with a project sponsor and 5 project managers in the New York metropolitan area. Data were analyzed using the process of coding and condensing the codes, which produced 5 themes, including effective lessons learned, capturing lessons learned, benefits of lessons learned, barriers to postproject reviews, and leadership support. The findings of this study indicated that organizational leaders used standard templates and organizational policies to ensure project managers execute postproject reviews. Organizational leaders and project managers may benefit from the findings of this study by learning the advantages of conducting postproject reviews. This study may contribute to positive social change by organizations achieving cost avoidance when they reduce project failures and increase project success.