Knowledge transfer and work productivity

Purpose - Purpose of the paper is to study if there are any differences in perceived work productivity based on how the knowledge worker perceives the level of information flow and knowledge transfer within the organization. Furthermore, if there are some differences between, how much the positively experienced information flow and knowledge transfer impact on experienced work productivity. Design/methodology/approach - Through the survey method, data were collected from 998 knowledge workers from Finland in various sizes of organizations representing mainly public sector or public owned corporations. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS software descriptive statistics, correlations and U-test. Originality/value - The value of this study bases in analyzing the relation between the perceived level of information flow/knowledge transfer and the perceived work productivity in the context of knowledge work through a rather large empirical data set. Limitation is, however, that the empirical study has been carried out only in one country, Finland, thus generalizations of the study results need to be carefully considered. Nevertheless, the results of the study will add some more empirical insights on the body of literature of knowledge transfer and work productivity. Practical implications - The practical value of the study lays on the analysis results. The paper presents the value of information flows and knowledge transfer to knowledge work productivity. This increased understanding will help managers to evaluate the effects of investing in supporting information flow and knowledge transfer within the organization. The study will also give initial ideas of the tools and techniques that are perceived affecting positively in information flow and knowledge transfer in knowledge work context.