EFFECTS OF NETWORK STRUCTURE ON KNOWELDGE TRANSFER
Knowledge transfer represents a cost to the source of knowledge,
in terms of time and effort spent helping others to
understand the source's knowledge. Presumably, the easier
the transfer, the less time (Hansen, 1999) and effort required
and the more likely that a transfer will occur and be successful.
We focus on the ease of transfer from a source to a
recipient, emphasizing the source's assessment of the ease of transfer for three reasons. First, knowledge transfer is a
discretionary activity,and knowledge transfer,and therefore
learning,follows the path of least resistance (Levinthaal nd
March, 1993). Individuals are presented with numerous
opportunities to share their knowledge with other members
of the organizational though not all opportunities are acted
upon. Understanding why individuals choose to transfer
knowledge in some cases but not others is an important precursor
to explaining successful knowledge transfer. Ease of
transfer is a primary explanation for why individuals transfer
knowledge to some individuals but not to others.