企业知识转移负面效应研究评述与展望

Review and Prospect of the Negative Effects of Firm Knowledge Transfer

随着知识经济的全球化,知识转移负面效应研究不断涌现,但文献涉及领域较分散,缺乏系统性分析。运用文献计量分析和定性评述相结合的方法,基于Citespace和VOSviewer软件,对知识转移负面效应的研究概况、研究热点和演进脉络进行可视化分析。以2000-2021年的134篇文献为样本,全面考察知识转移负面效应的前因、后果和调节因素,构建知识转移负面效应综合分析框架,系统揭示知识转移过程中负面效应形成机制及其对创新绩效的影响,并对未来研究方向提出建议,即企业如果能够在知识转移前确保良好的始发状态,在转移过程中巧妙地避开衍生的负面效应以及在转移后对负面效应进行积极引导,能更好地提升知识转移效率和效果。

Knowledge is regarded as an important resource for enterprises to improve R&D performance and core competi-tiveness.Despite the fact that most of the existing research focuses on the positive impact of knowledge transfer,negative effects of knowledge transfer persists.With the deepening of practice,firms gradually find that knowledge transfer some-times not only fails to bring the expected benefits,but also becomes a burden to organizational costs.At present,the in-creasing number of studies on negative effects of knowledge transfer has the potential to meaningfully impact managers'understanding of knowledge transfer process control and practice outcome transformation.However,the research direc-tions and emphases of existing studies are scattered.It is therefore the purpose of the current work to conduct a systematic review of extant research on negative effects of firm knowledge transfer.First,the protocol used to collect and synthesize the extant research on negative effects of knowledge transfer is out-lined,including a comprehensive search of CNKI and WOS databases as well as standard screening.Second,there is a general overview of the findings from the literature reviewed.By Citespace and VOS software,this study makes an analy-sis of high-frequency keywords to extract the eight research hotspots of the negative effects of knowledge transfer,and the evolutionary law of the negative effects of knowledge transfer is clarified.Third,from 124 literatures from 2000 to 2021,it systematically summarizes the concept and manifestation of the“negative effects”of knowledge transfer by using the method of scope review,and further reviews the antecedent variables,consequence variables and moderating variables of the negative effects of knowledge transfer.Then a comprehensive theoretical framework of negative effects of knowledge transfer is constructed to systematically reveal the formation mechanism and governance mode of negative effects in the process of knowledge transfer..The main research findings are as follows.(1)In terms of development trend,the research on the negative effects of knowledge transfer presents two stages of slow start and rapid development,but there is still little domestic attention.(2)The connotation of negative effect of knowledge transfer is analyzed based on reviewing the concept of existing literature.It is believed that negative effect refers to the leakage of core knowledge or skills in the process of knowledge transfer due to some reasons(e.g.opportunistic or conflicts).Therefore,it damages the core competitiveness of firms and reduces the effect of firm performance.(3)From the internal mechanism of negative effects of knowledge transfer,the antecedent variables,consequence variables and moderating variables are summarized.On the one hand,some factors among the four levels of knowledge,industry environment,organization and partners will lead to negative effects in the process of knowl-edge transfer,and adversely affect the innovation ability and performance of the organization.On the other hand,situa-tional factors,organizational flexibility,knowledge segmentation and other factors in the four levels will adjust the nega-tive effects in the process of knowledge transfer before and after the process of knowledge transfer.(4)In terms of re-search content,there are fewer systematic review papers on the relevant topics;in terms of research methods,most of the scholars have adopted a single subjective method.Few research uses macro software analysis and the method of combining representative sample systems to clarify the negative effects of the mechanism of knowledge transfer.Specifically,the use of a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods provides a broader lens to research content that has not been cov-ered by previous reviews.This paper poses greater challenges for future empirical researchers to note and by providing actionable direction for scholars and practitioners around negative effects of knowledge transfer,and for firms,they should ensure a good start-up state before knowledge transfer and skillfully avoid the negative effects arising from the knowledge transfer process.Through active guidance to firms in this paper,the efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge transfer are improved,and the core competitiveness and innovation capability of firms are further enhanced after knowledge transfer.