Know-how transfer in construction industry: Social and economics factors

The importance of managing knowledge in organizations for competitive advantage has received an amount of attention in recently years. In construction industry, the transfer of tacit, non-proprietary technological knowledge often referred as know-how is critical in making knowledge actionable and operational in construction industry. The research investigates the importance of social and economics aspects in knowledge transfer. By using the concept of reciprocity, the research analyzes the economic and social perspectives on exchange, and discusses how the socio-economic context influences know-how transfer decisions within the same firm and across firm boundaries. Drawing upon a questionnaire-based survey on the construction industry, the research aims to examine the significance of social and economics factors in enhancing the capabilities of know-how transfer in such an environment. The main finding from the research is that processes of know-how transfer in project settings rely very heavily upon social and economic patterns, practices and processes. In particular, the value and importance of recognizing the dual impact of social relationships and competition is crucial to know-how transfer behaviour.