know-how and skills. Information can readily be shared via hard copy and electronic data transfer, but know-how and skills are much more difficult, as we have seen in Chapter 6.
 None the less, it is possible and many firms rely on individuals spending time within other firms, either on secondment for a set time or through exchanges of staff.
 It is the interpersonal interaction which facilitates the transfer of tacit knowledge. 
Design and manufacturing alliances such as those established by Nike are very effective knowledge-sharing routines and hence become more innovative at than their competitors. 
This then becomes powerful competitive advantage which a is extremely difficult to replicate and copy and may give a firm an advantage for many years. 
Moreover, it is an advantage that a firm may possess which does not require costly patent protection and avoids the risk of copycat branding.