Inter-project knowledge transfer in project-based organizations: an organizational context perspective

Abstract

Purpose

Numerous studies highlight the importance of knowledge transfer between projects, but the influence factors are still debated. As a contribution to the identified gap, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of organizational context, project characteristics and social relations in the inter-project knowledge transfer within the project-based organizations (PBOs).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper collects the data through 268 sample questionnaires from Chinese construction sectors and applies the structure equation modeling to analyze knowledge transfer between projects in PBOs.

Findings

The results indicate the organizational context (meeting system, reward system and shared culture) and project characteristics (similarity and urgency) are antecedents affecting social relations (communication, trust and reciprocity) between project teams, and their social relations further influence the effectiveness of inter-project knowledge transfer.

Originality/value

The study highlights the role of organizational context and effect of social relations for inter-project knowledge transfer in PBOs, and provides valuable suggestions for knowledge and project management in PBOs.

Citation

Ren, X., Yan, Z., Wang, Z. and He, J. (2019), "Inter-project knowledge transfer in project-based organizations: an organizational context perspective", Management Decision, Vol. 58 No. 5, pp. 844-863. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-11-2018-1211