Enhancing Knowledge Transfer Through Nurturing Cognitive Flexibility

Knowledge transfer involves transferring knowledge from its native problem context to a different context, and adapting the knowledge according to the new conditions. It is an important source of organizational capability and a primary activity of knowledge management. The change of condition often creates major challenges to knowledge transfer. We explore this problem from the individual perspective. Drawing from the educational psychology and end-user training literatures, we posit that a knowledge worker’s cognitive flexibility has a positive impact on knowledge transfer; and that a knowledge worker’s cognitive flexibility with respect to a set of knowledge can be improved through learning that emphasizes cognitive flexibility. We argue that in a knowledge management system, knowledge should be represented to enhance a knowledge worker’s cognitive flexibility, and consequently, improve knowledge transfer.