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Determinants of causal ambiguity and difficulty of knowledge transfer within the firm

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2014

Ugur Uygur
Ugur Uygur*
Affiliation:
Management, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, USA
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]
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Abstract

The knowledge-based view of the firm portrays knowledge assets as the basis of sustainable competitive advantage. However, leveraging the knowledge available to the firm is not straightforward. The transfer of best practices within the firm or the replication of a certain routine poses challenges for managers. Causal ambiguity of knowledge makes it difficult to transfer practices into other contexts within the firm. In this paper, a new framework is proposed that identifies four antecedents to causal ambiguity: complexity, tacitness, relevance to the existing knowledge base, and the locality of knowledge. The paper concludes with the implications of the framework.

Keywords

knowledge transfertheoretical perspectivesknowledge-based viewstrategic knowledge capabilitiestacit/explicit knowledge
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 19 , Issue 6 , November 2013 , pp. 742 - 755
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2013 

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