Role-Based Experiences, Media Perceptions, and Knowledge Transfer Success in Virtual Dyads

Abstract

Knowledge transfer (KT) is the process through which one is affected by the experience of another. While many of the challenges of KT have been discussed in the literature (e.g., incentives, cognitive limitations), the challenge of KT in virtual settings has received limited attention. In this paper, our interest lies in exploring asymmetric KT where a sender has more knowledge about a topic than a receiver. We focus on a dyadic relationship between geographically dispersed sender and receiver units, supported by a multi-media technology environment. Drawing from the KT literature and Channel Expansion Theory, we specifically explore the evolution of and relationship between role-based experiences (e.g., with partner, topic, media) and media richness perceptions. Our results provide evidence that KT roles do matter relative to the acquisition of experiences and expansions in media richness perceptions. Despite some differences in acquired experiences, our results also suggest that KT partners converge in their perceptions of acquired experiences and evolve to shared (or congruent) perceptions of media richness. Finally, our results provide evidence that sender-receiver congruence in media richness perceptions influences KT success.