Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer Strategy Framework for Family Firm

Abstract

In recent years, the world's ageing phenomena has led to the increase number of retirements in organisations. This phenomenon inevitably has given a great impact to many organisations when number of productive labour force decreases. Productive labours take with them experience and knowledge; hence, organisations suffers loss of its knowledge and cost them lots of money to replace. To combat the dangers of corporate amnesia, it is crucial for family firm to transfer its knowledge from the elder generation to the younger generation. For decades, family firm strives for business continuity from one generation to another and faces challenges in managing their resources, which plays a vital role in determining their continuous existence, i.e. their knowledge. However, current knowledge transfer strategies fail to consider unique challenges that faced by family business which other kind of businesses may not encounter. Realising the criticality of intergenerational knowledge transfer in family firms and the lack of intergenerational knowledge transfer strategies and mechanisms, this research attempts to investigate and propose an intergenerational knowledge transfer strategy framework and technologies to support the intergenerational knowledge transfer. We adopted a qualitative approach in understanding the characteristics of family business, strategies and mechanisms used in transferring their knowledge. Success investigation would assist us in understanding the scenario and subsequently enable us to propose a knowledge transfer strategy framework and possible technologies to support the knowledge transfer. This would definitely assist family business to manage their knowledge better and ensure the existence of their family business in the future.