The interaction between knowledge management and technology transfer: a current literature review between 2013 and 2018

Abstract

The underlying challenges of knowledge management and technology transfer and their respective contributions to the development of society are well-known and widely discussed issues in business management. This paper aims to (1) build on the state-of-the art literature on knowledge management and technology transfer, (2) to identify the most relevant, recent studies, and main researchers working on the field worldwide, and (3) to unveil topics of recent development in the field, as well as overlap the themes. To this end, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Scopus databases were screened for studies that explored the relevance of knowledge management and technology transfer. This research focused on the most recent studies comprising the periods of 2013–2018, while employing Metodi Ordinatio as a quality ranking method, producing thus 50 studies submitted for further analysis and appraisal. The study sought to analyze the co-occurrence of keywords on the theme, the number of citations, number of publications per country, year and journal, and the overlap between areas. This paper also enabled an analysis of the steps required for knowledge management and their relationship to technology transfer. The results showed that most studies focused on the private sector and on technology transfer for attaining innovation, customer orientation and acquiring technological abilities. The university–industry relationship was also observed, in which the focus is on universities creating and transferring knowledge in order to foment the economic and technological power of industries. The findings can assist public and private companies, non-governmental organizations, university and industry applications in terms of knowledge management and technology transfer.