The role of the relational context factors in the technological knowledge transfer: a case study of a public sector agribusiness research organization

Abstract

During the past two decades, knowledge transfer has been
acknowledged because of its relevance for innovation and
competitiveness of firms. Although there have been enormous
advances in the research on this topic, the literature has, to a certain
degree, adopted a single dimensional perspective and, as a result, has
neglected the complexity of this process by frequently considering it
as an event of knowledge transfer. Based on a critical literature
review, this article aims to understand and analyze the role of
relational context factors in the process of inter-firm knowledge
transfer. To do so, we constructed a single qualitative case of a public
sector agro-business research organization. The results show that the
relational context factors, in particular the quality of the relationship
and the cultural distance, exert a significant influence upon the
process of inter-firm knowledge transfer. In the case presented here,
this influence is suggested to be negative.