Empirical Study on the Influence of Social Capital to Informal Knowledge Transfer among Individuals

Abstract

Informal knowledge transfer among individuals is a crucial section of organization knowledge management. Based on theories of knowledge transfer, the hypotheses of influence of social capital to informal knowledge transfer among individuals were proposed. By empirical study, this paper verified and revised the model, and revealed that three dimensions of social capital not only have a direct significant effect on informal knowledge transfer performance among individuals, but also have an indirect effect on the informal knowledge transfer performance among individuals by impacting on knowledge transfer opportunities, motives and ability respectively. The results obtained in this study can provide some useful guidance for organizations to enhance knowledge innovation by the promotion of informal knowledge transfer among individuals.