The research area of knowledge transfer is a critical one in the current era of the knowledge economy. Previous studies have channelled much effort into understanding how knowledge transfer could be facilitated efficiently. Yet most of these studies conducted research only at the individual level, ignoring the fact that, in many organizations, the team now serves as the basic unit for transferring and preserving knowledge. In addition, these studies have not put much emphasis on the learning side of knowledge transfer. This study attempts to fill the gaps left by previous studies. First, we identify two determinants of knowledge transfer, namely, knowledge sharing and learning intensity. Furthermore, we discuss how to efficiently foster knowledge sharing and learning intensity at the team level from the perspective of social capital. Finally, we conduct an empirical survey to examine relationships among the components of social capital (i.e. trust and social interaction), and knowledge sharing and learning intensity.

The relationship between interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing was explored, along with the impact of individual altruism and a social interaction environment. Participants were employees in Taiwanese high-tech industries. Employees' perceived interpersonal trust, of either their colleagues or supervisor, was found to be positively correlated with their knowledge-sharing behaviors in the workplace. Employees' altruism traits were found to be a factor for them to share knowledge in the workplace and the trait of altruism was also found to reduce the positive association between trust of colleagues and knowledge sharing. An organizational social interaction environment intensifies the positive association between trust of colleagues and knowledge sharing. Theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed.

Since knowledge has became the most valuable asset for organizations in the knowledge-economy age, related issues of knowledge management have been getting more and more attention, especially the concept of knowledge sharing, because it is a necessary condition for organizations to perform fruitful knowledge transfer and creation, which will then help them gain and sustain competitive advantage. Previous research has for the most part only studied how to induce employees to perform knowledge sharing at the individual level. However, it might not be enough as nowadays most organizational goals must be met by teamwork; therefore, recognizing what kind of team attributes can effectively promote knowledge sharing is important. In this study, we investigate the issue of knowledge sharing based on the IPO (input-process-output model) model at the team level. 53 R&D teams composed of 205 employees participated in this study to examine the relationships among team personality composition (the five-factor personality), team process (affective tie), and team outcome (knowledge sharing). The findings are then discussed in terms of their implications for management practices and future research.

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