The Nature and Dimensions of Knowledge Mobility for Competitive Advantage

Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen (), Heidi Olander () and Max Zedtwitz ()
Additional contact information
Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen: University of Oulu
Heidi Olander: Lappeenranta University of Technology
Max Zedtwitz: Kaunas University of Technology

A chapter in Knowledge Management in the Sharing Economy, 2018, pp 169-188 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Knowledge exchange generally leads to mutual benefits, but unintentional knowledge transfer may have negative consequences for the original knowledge owner. Knowledge loss may be caused by, e.g., key employees leaving, and if key knowledge assets are obtained by competitors, it may harm the competitiveness of the firm. As the dynamics of overall knowledge mobility are rather abstract and difficult to grasp, this study first reviews the debate on the relevance of knowledge mobility and protection for competitive advantage. To identify the dimensions of knowledge mobility we seek explanations for how and why knowledge moves, what kind of knowledge moves, and where and how knowledge flows occur. Based on earlier literature and empirical evidence from qualitative research, we develop a categorization of dimensions of knowledge mobility. In particular, we suggest that intentionality of knowledge mobility reveals other dimensions of the type, modality, and locus. This categorization allows a sharper analytical evaluation of the nature of the connection between knowledge mobility and protection.

Keywords: Knowledge Mobility; Unintentional Knowledge; Knowledge Flows; Knowledge Leakage; Confident Knowledge (CK) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:kmochp:978-3-319-66890-1_9

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783319668901

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-66890-1_9

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().