The relationships between knowledge transfer, knowledge dissemination capability and inter-organizational dynamics in public and private sectors organizations

Abstract

This research empirically investigated the relationships between knowledge transfer, knowledge dissemination capability and inter-organizational dynamics in public and private sectors organizations. The research employed a quantitative methodology to investigate the effects of asset specificity, experience, expertise and absorptive capacity on the transfer of knowledge in Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects, and the moderating effects of collaborative know-how and partnership duration. In addition, the research also studied the relationships among the constructs inside knowledge dissemination capability and the moderating effect of inter-organizational dynamics on it. 602 valid responses were collected by a questionnaire survey amongst private and public sector professional practitioners; which representing a 30% response rate. The findings revealed that the research established its critical role in knowledge transfer by showing its supportive effect on the process and illustrated a weak effect of collaborative know-how and partnership duration on knowledge transfer in PFI projects. With regard to the knowledge dissemination capability itself, there is virtually no relationship between absorptive capacity and intra-organizational transfer capability within the donor and recipient organizations in PFI projects. PFI partners need to carefully balance absorptive capacity and intra-organizational transfer capability, since inter-organization dynamics cannot facilitate knowledge dissemination within donor/recipient organizations.