The ‘Right’ Knowledge and Spin-off Processes: an Empirical Analysis on Knowledge Transfer

Recent advances on cognitive theory shift from a trade-off between individual and collective knowledge to attempt a closer look at the re-conceptualization of knowledge production and exploitation activities. Findings from the study of human cognition indicate that people have limited information-processing capacities and consequently adopt organizational rules in overcoming individual cognitive limitations. Researchers therefore rely on mental scripts and heuristics to make sense of the knowledge use in organizations. This study extends the previous line of research by seeking to uncover the specific ways in which individuals process information and share knowledge to link organizational learning and entrepreneurial action. Specifically, our focus has been maintained on the most problematic issue about knowledge transfer dynamics: spin-off is viewed as exploiting knowledge their founders learned in prior employment and moved outward to new business initiatives. The spirit that motivated this research was twofold: firstly, previous literature recognition provided critical insights for the development of the model. Secondly, on-field verification sought to confirm the hypotheses on the suitability of spin-offs to serve as a vector for the transfer of the cognitive map developed in parent firms. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013