C55.
Simard, C. & Rice, R. E. (2007). The
practice gap: Barriers to the diffusion of best practices.
In C. R. McInerney & R. E. Day
(Eds.). Re-thinking knowledge management:
From knowledge objects to knowledge processes (pp.
87-124). Dordrecht,
The Netherlands:
Springer-Verlag. For information on the book, see:
http://www.springer.com:80/west/home/generic/search/results?SGWID=4-40109-22-173723443-0.
Based
on a review of selected literature, this chapter identifies and
explains three
categories of potential barriers to the intra-organizational transfer
of best
practices. The first category is the organizational context, including
institutional and organizational environment, absorptive capacity,
competency
traps, identity, culture, and size. The second category is related to
the
diffusion process itself: stages of diffusion, attributes of the
innovation,
the recipient, and the knowledge to be transferred, and the state of
relationship between the source of knowledge and the receiving unit.
The third
category includes management-related barriers, such as the level of
managerial
commitment and the appropriateness of training and reward systems.
Common
strategies for facilitating best practice transfer are reviewed and
research
propositions are derived.
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