Motivation, Knowledge Transfer, and Organizational Forms

Abstract

Employees are motivated intrinsically as well as extrinsically. Intrinsic motivation is crucial when tacit knowledge in and between teams must be transferred. Organizational forms enable different kinds of motivation and have different capacities to generate and transfer tacit knowledge. Since knowledge generation and transfer are essential for a firm's sustainable competitive advantage, we ask specifically what kinds of motivation are needed to generate and transfer tacit knowledge, as opposed to explicit knowledge.

Keywords: Motivation, Knowledge Transfer, Tacit Knowledge, Crowding Effects, Firm Theory, Resource-based View

JEL Classification: A12, J33, L22, M12