Knowledge transfer strategies among coaches in sports organizations in Selangor / Siti Aishah Wahab

Knowledge transfer is to ensure sustainable knowledge in organizations; otherwise, knowledge loss will occur. This study is conducted to examine the process of knowledge transfer in sports organizations in Malaysia. It uses a process-oriented methodology (namely grounded theory), the use of which is either non-existent in knowledge transfer research in sports organizations or the practice of 'selecting and mixing' a wide range of research. The sample consisted of eight coaches working in Selangor's sports organizations. They were interviewed individually for the study. The data collected were later collated, transcribed, and interpreted based on the grounded theory approach. Emerging concepts were identified, arranged, linked, and presented in a meaningful and understandable way. Also, during the coding process, the constant comparative technique was used to assist emerging theory development. As a result, an inductive theory describing knowledge transfer in sports organizations was developed. The study results were used to develop a structured model to understand the process of knowledge transfer in sport organizations, and four categories of engaging, socializing, benchmarking, and learning emerged during the data analysis process. In the selective coding process, data revealed that the benchmarking category became the condition for searching for relevant knowledge while engaging and socializing were the strategies for searching for relevant knowledge. Learning became its consequences as it depended on the ability to understand during the engaging and socializing process. After examining all categories, learning seems to fit the criteria for the central category in this present study. This study of knowledge transfer was novel as it had never been studied in sports organizations in Malaysia, and its contribution to academic research in theoretical and methodological was achieved via the grounded theory approach. Future studies would be interesting if the concepts and categories related to knowledge management strategies found in this study could be investigated using a deductive research approach that may involve other geographic regions and various fields. This will enable further discussion of comparative knowledge transfer studies.