A FRAMEWORK TO SUPPORT KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN

THE SERVICE SECTOR

Simrn Kaur Gill, Paul Folan and Kathryn Cormican

College of Engineering and Informatics, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

Keywords: Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Process, Service Sector.

Abstract: This paper introduces a framework for analysing and supporting knowledge transfer in healthcare services.

It argues that the individual is at the centre of the transfer process and, as such, needs to be catered-to within

both teams and organisations. Within the healthcare sector, safety is critical, and the effective and efficient

transfer of knowledge between healthcare professionals and patients can help to reduce the risks in the

system. Furthermore, the authors hope that a clear understanding and accurate identification of the factors

that impact the knowledge transfer process for individuals can have an impact on the knowledge transfer

process in teams and organisations. The development of a suitable approach to support knowledge transfer

for improved transfer of knowledge among these groups in the healthcare services is achieved using

technology where appropriate, through the knowledge transfer framework which is presented.

1 INTRODUCTION

The service sector has grown faster over the past few

years than any other sector in the global economy. It

now contributes a sizable percentage to the gross

domestic product of most countries (CREST R&D in

services Working Group, 2009, Eurostat, 2010). The

service sector of the economy is focused on people

interacting with people. The products of the service

sector are intangible, experience-based, and the

product is provided through personal interaction

(Straub and Karahanna, 1998, Davis, 2002).

Healthcare is part of the service sector, it is entirely

based on the interactions between individuals and

groups of professionals, be they clinicians, nurses,

patients or administrative staff.

The healthcare services are one of the most

knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy. It is

based on the generation, representation, accessibility

and transfer of knowledge between individuals,

teams and organisations. Effective and efficient

transfer of knowledge can assist healthcare services

in the control of cost, time and improving the quality

of the services provided. Knowledge transfer is seen

as crucial to the management of knowledge in an

organisation (Argote and Ingram, 2000, Lahti and

Beyerlein, 2000). During the past number of years

researchers have carried out numerous studies on the

effects of knowledge transfer, both internally and

externally to the organisation (Gilbert and Cordey-

Hayes, 1996, Moreland and Mayaskovsky, 2000). In

these studies, efficient and effective knowledge

transfer has been recognised as being one of the

critical success factors to successful knowledge

management (Lahti and Beyerlein, 2000).

The main objective of this research is to improve

the effectiveness of the knowledge transfer process

in the healthcare sector. Firstly by providing a

holistic understanding of the knowledge transfer

processes in relation to the factors that have an

impact on the process. Secondly by facilitating the

effective and efficient transfer of knowledge

between both the sender and receiver in the process

to identify and analyse the needs and requirements,

and adaptations necessary to meet them. In

particular the research will provide guidance and

support to individuals in the transfer process with

regard to the needs and requirements of the sender

and recipient. From our study the following needs

have been identified (a) an individual-centred

approach to knowledge transfer; (b) informed

decision-making; (c) effective use of information

and knowledge; (d) effective mechanism for

knowledge transfer and (e) effective use of

technology to support knowledge transfer. Through

358

Kaur Gill S., Folan P. and Cormican K..

A FRAMEWORK TO SUPPORT KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN THE SERVICE SECTOR.

DOI: 10.5220/0003097703580362

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing (KMIS-2010), pages 358-362

ISBN: 978-989-8425-30-0

 2010 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

the knowledge transfer framework support is

provided to both the sender and recipient in the

knowledge transfer process.

2 KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Knowledge transfer is of particular importance due

to the knowledge growth potential that occurs during

the transfer of knowledge from one individual to

another, and also from one organisation to another

(Argote and Ingram, 2000, Sveiby, 2001). Gilbert

and Cordey-Hayes (1996) propose a four stage

process towards achieving knowledge growth

potential during knowledge transfer; acquisition (the

gathering of knowledge from various sources),

communication (the distributing of this knowledge),

application (the applying of knowledge so that it is

retained) and assimilation (the result of applying the

knowledge). Knowledge transfer is not an easy

process to achieve; it is hindered at each stage in the

process as problems that occur during the stages are

not identified until the next stage begins (Argote and

Ingram, 2000, Levine and Moreland, 2000). To date

research in the area has focused on developing

individual tools to support specific area of

knowledge transfer in healthcare services. This

research seeks to develop a unified approach to

knowledge transfer in healthcare services.

3 RESEARCH METHOD

A research approach developed by Cormican and

O’Sullivan (2003) was followed.

Phase 1: Foundation. A review of literature relating

to knowledge transfer was carried out. The scope of

the review was literature in relation to knowledge

transfer definitions, concepts, scenarios and

applications. The objective of the knowledge

transfer framework is to assist the sender and

receiver in the knowledge transfer process. This is

accomplished through the framework supporting

analysis, design, development and implementation in

the process.

Phase 2: Induction. After an evaluation of the

various definitions, concepts, scenarios and

applications on knowledge transfer, a refinement of

the initial ideas from the foundation phase were

made. The refinement focused on knowledge

transfer features, characteristics and technologies.

Initial solutions were formulated in relation to the

case studies.

Phase 3: Iteration. Foundation and induction

phases were repeated a number of times to refine

and develop the initial framework. The ideas

generated were analysed and refined until the

components of the framework that are illustrated in

section 4 were developed.

Phase 4: Presentation. A summary of the

knowledge transfer framework is presented,

explained and discussed in section 4. These initial

tools will be presented to the case studies and will be

used to provide a systematic approach to analysing

the knowledge transfer process.

Phase 5: Verification. As is highlighted previously

the framework will be evaluated and verified within

a healthcare services case study. This will be

completed through empirical testing of the

framework tools during the acquisition,

communication, application and assimilation stages

of the knowledge transfer in the case study.

4 KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

FRAMEWORK

Following the review of various knowledge transfer

methods and techniques along with classification

systems, a framework for supporting the transfer

process is presented. The framework is designed to

be used by healthcare professionals in transferring

knowledge more effectively and efficiently to other

healthcare professionals and patients. This

framework is called the Knowledge Transfer (KT)

Framework. The KT framework applies a systems

approach to analysing, designing, developing and

implementing knowledge transfer in processes. The

framework is made up of both theoretical structures

and practical techniques to enable more effective

and efficient knowledge transfer (see Figure 1).

These tools are:

• Best practice

The best practice element of the tool set incorporates

findings from numerous areas of research. These

include cognitive psychology, organisational

strategy, and organisational behaviour and

technology innovation in the area of user-centred

development. The knowledge transfer process is

cyclical and is constantly occurring. The findings

from the literature are incorporated to create a best

practice document that provides guidelines for

effective and efficient knowledge transfer. The best

practice document is examined with regard to the

following areas: acquisition, communication,

application and assimilation.

A FRAMEWORK TO SUPPORT KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN THE SERVICE SECTOR

359

• Typologies and taxonomies

Typologies are groupings of models, which describe

different aspects of the same characteristics. The

models create a visual representation of the key

areas that need to be considered in the process and

also represent the level of interaction and overlap

between them. The typologies and taxonomies

examine three areas: individual knowledge

management; technology innovation for supporting

knowledge transfer; and knowledge transfer for

individuals, teams and organisation.

• Scorecard

There are numerous factors that can affect the

success of the knowledge transfer process.

Understanding the sender and recipient in the

process assists in evaluating the quality and

effectiveness of the knowledge that has been

transferred. An understanding of the acquisition,

communication, application and assimilation during

the knowledge transfer process must also be

realised. The human, process, and technical

environment, need to be considered with regard to a

successful knowledge transfer process. A set of four

indicators are suggested by the author to assist in a

successful knowledge transfer process. They can

also be used to assess the absorptive capacity of the

individual, and to identify the areas where the

knowledge transfer process was deficient. The four

key stages include acquisition, communication,

application and assimilation. Each of these stages is

further evaluated under need, habit, emotion, context

awareness, individual centred, sensitive and

responsive, and intuitive and adaptive.

• Key performance indicators

The key performance indicators can be used to

quantify knowledge transfer performance in

assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the

process. In developing the performance indicators, a

combined structural and procedural framework is

applied. This combined approach incorporates the

various elements of the best practice, typologies and

taxonomies, as well as the scorecard. In developing

the performance indicators Thorndike and Hagen

(1977) three steps for test measurement have been

followed, (a) identify and define the quality or

attribute to be measured; (b) determine a set of

operations by which the attribute may be made

manifest and perceivable and (c) establish a set of

procedures or definitions for translating observations

into quantitative statements of degree or amount.

In adhering to these three principles it is hoped that

this will protect the validity of the measurement

process, particularly when attempting to measure

some aspect of human behaviour in areas where

“there is no single universally accepted test”

(Thorndike and Hagen, 1977).

• System support architecture

System support architecture is needed to provide a

systematic approach to knowledge transfer for

individuals, teams and organisations. The

architecture needs to be designed to incorporate best

practice, typology and taxonomy, check sheet and

scorecard, and the key performance indicators. The

ARIS house is used to incorporate these tools. The

ARIS house (Scheer, 1998) incorporates five

elements, organisation, data, control, function and

output.

• Implementation methodology

The methodology incorporates the tools outlined

above in a unified approach that can be applied in

the services sector of the economy in a structured

approach.

The tools that make up the framework are not

definitive and will change through further

development and application in the case study. The

aim of this research is to add to the knowledge base

in the areas outlined, provide guidance with regard

to knowledge transfer in the service sector and to

encourage further research in the area.

Figure 1: Knowledge transfer framework.

5 CASE STUDY

Healthcare is a particularly important area of the

public sector that has to adapt to meet the changing

needs of society. Therefore knowledge transfer

within healthcare services is safety critical during

transitions of care. Transitions of care in healthcare

refer to the “specific interactions, communications

and planning required for patient to safely move

from one service or setting to another” (Society of

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Hospital Medicine, 2006). The transitions occur

during the transfer of patients from inpatients to

outpatients. It can also be seen in acute care

transfers. These can take place between acute care

and/or sub-acute and/or non-acute care facilities.

The aim of the healthcare professionals is to

“provide leadership to promote efficient, safe

transitions of care to ensure patient safety, reduce

loss of information, and maintain the continuum of

care” (Society of Hospital Medicine, 2006). If there

is a breakdown during the transition of care, this can

result in patient dissatisfaction and poor healthcare

outcomes due to fragmented care. The aim is to

provide continuity of care (Harrison, 2004). If

transitions of care are not made efficiently and

effectively between care providers, it can have a

detrimental effect on the patient (Beach et al., 2003).

Transitions of care cannot be achieved without

collaboration between the various healthcare

providers (Thornhill et al., 2008) during knowledge

transfer. The research hopes to reduce the risks that

occur during transitions of care due to problems

arising in the transfer of knowledge between

stakeholders.

6 IMPLICATIONS AND NEXT

STEP

Knowledge is viewed by organisations as a

significant resource that can be utilised to achieve a

competitive advantage in the market place. To

achieve this requires the effective and efficient

management of knowledge. This can be achieved

through: (a) improved economic management; (b)

improved visibility of customer requirements; (c)

improved visibility of future trends; (d) improved

traceability and learning through previous

experience; (e) improved communication across

geographically distributed offices and the supply

chain; (f) improved absorption of tacit knowledge

and (g) improved informal culture of knowledge

transfer. The benefits of knowledge management are

achieved through the efficient and effective

management of the knowledge process. These

potential benefits can be facilitated through

improved support prior to, during, and after

knowledge transfer. The framework that has been

described in this paper needs to be applied and

validated in a case study. Then the potential benefits

need to be evaluated against achieved gains.

7 CONCLUSIONS

Knowledge transfer is the process of transferring

knowledge from one individual to another. The

process is not always analysed, designed, developed

or implemented. Knowledge transfer has two main

issues that need to be considered. First the processes

involved in knowledge transfer and the factors that

impact on it. Secondly the factors and issues that

impact on the transfer of knowledge being effective

and efficient for both the sender and the receiver.

The development of a suitable approach to support

improved transfer of knowledge among these groups

in healthcare services is achieved through the

knowledge transfer framework. The framework

includes a suite of tools that assist in supporting the

knowledge transfer process at an individual level.

This allows for an evaluation of the process at

various stages, which provides for more effective

adaption to changes as they occur.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work has been partly funded by the National

University of Ireland, Galway, College of

Engineering Postgraduate Fellowship.

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