The prevalence of temporary forms of cooperation and project-based work is increasing. Likewise, the knowledge-intensity of work contents is
growing. However, the unique and temporary nature of projects and programs does not support knowledge transfer from, between and within
projects.
This research aims at spotting success factors of knowledge management in temporary organizations. Based on a cross-industry sample with
414 organizations, we apply the partial least square (PLS) method to test the influence of cultural, organizational, structural, and process-related
factors on knowledge management effectiveness.
Besides IT-support and formal elements of the organization, it is cultural factors that strongly influence knowledge management success. In
temporary organizations they compensate for the lack of organizational routines and organizational memory. Our results contribute to a more
differentiated understanding of knowledge management in project environments.