Knowledge Transfer within the Highland Research and Development Institute (Public Organization): A Social Network Perspective

Abstract

Due to the current economic climate, knowledge plays an important role in productivity and growth. Not only are enterprises in the private sector required to adjust themselves, but institutes in the public sector or government agencies across the world are also facing challenges in this respect. Knowledge management is now widely regarded as a major strategic tool of all organisations and in Thailand, the government also encourages public institutions to make effective use of their internal knowledge and information. Therefore, the aim of this research is to identify the critical factors that affect the knowledge transfer process of the Highland Research and Development Institute (Public Organization) (HRDI), based on the concepts of knowledge transfer and social networks in order to design and develop a suitable knowledge transfer framework. A mixed research method was applied in this study, which involved the use of a Social Network Analysis (SNA) as a tool for a quantitative analysis and expert interviews for a qualitative analysis. According to a review of the HRDI, it contains four critical kinds of knowledge, one of which is the application of appropriate communication technology to provide the staff in the organisation with information and learning. An SNA was used to identify key actors or experts and then design a knowledge transfer framework based on interviewing them using the SECI model.