Enhancing Knowledge Transfer for Op- timized Product Development in Manu- facturing Organizations
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Management and economics of innovation (MPMEI), MSc
Publicerad
2024
Författare
Armesjö, Erik
Leo, Axelsson
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
This thesis explores the difficulties individuals face and strategies organizations can
utilize to enhance knowledge transfer in the context of product development within
manufacturing organizations. Knowledge has a critical role as a strategic asset re-
garding creating and maintaining a competitive advantage, hence, the importance
of effective knowledge management and transfer practices is vital. This research is
a single case study, examining knowledge transfer processes regarding both explicit
and tacit knowledge among employees engaged in product development. The study
employs a qualitative research approach, primarily utilizing semi-structured inter-
views with relevant employees for data collection. The findings indicate different
barriers depending on whether the knowledge ought to be transferred is explicit or
tacit. Regarding explicit knowledge, the main challenges lie in storing, organizing,
and retrieving knowledge. For tacit, it is rather about the challenge of finding the
person with the already existing knowledge. To address these challenges, the study
proposes a set of strategies aimed at improving knowledge transfer. Regarding tacit
knowledge it includes enhancing inter-departmental communication by mapping out
the knowledge in a structured way by connecting knowledge to tangible concepts,
items, or activities. As for explicit knowledge, the storing, organizing, and retrieving
of knowledge should be handled by a centralized technological tool. The proposed
solutions not only aim to optimize product development processes but also seek
to harness the full potential of organizational knowledge. This thesis enriches the
existing literature on knowledge transfer within manufacturing settings and offers
practical insights for similar organizations facing knowledge management challenges.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Knowledge Transfer , Product Development , Manufacturing Organizations , Tacit Knowledge , Explicit Knowledge , Organizational Culture