Knowledge transfer and entrepreneurial orientation: the mediating effect of the transactive memory system

Abstract

The constant dynamism of the market forces companies to prepare and acquire knowledge and manage it properly, which in turn will allow them to achieve higher levels of modernity, stability, and solvency, thus improving their chances of survival. In this research paper, we aim to investigate the relationship between Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurial Orientation in light of the mediating role played by the Transactive Memory System. The Transactive Memory System is a variable that has been very little studied and understood, but which requires greater attention because it constitutes a common knowledge platform that is encoded, stored, retrieved, and exchanged among the members of the organisation to obtain specialised knowledge in the performance of tasks. To this aim, we use structural equation modelling and further analyse the mediation effect with alternative tests in a sample of 206 manufacturing MSMEs in Ecuador. Among others, the results indicate that the Transactive Memory System exerts a total mediation role between Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurial Orientation. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• knowledge transfer
• entrepreneurial orientation
• transactive memory system
• consulting
• MSMEs

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Editor-in-Chief, the Associate Editor, and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback on the previous version of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).