Knowledge management as second level management

Abstract

This article deals with the question: What enables organizations to manage knowledge transfer? We present principal-agent theory as a foundation to explain barriers of knowledge transfer. We show mechanisms which can solve the principal-agent problem by means of network, organizational, and motivational characteristics. Thereafter, we give some empirical evidence from a survey with medical doctors. The results show that network characteristics in form of direct channels for interaction, organizational characteristics, and intrinsic motivation can support knowledge transfer. These three factors are part of a ‘second level management’.