Fit between knowledge transfer complexity and media capability: A metaanalysis

This paper develops a knowledge transfer complexity (KTC) framework by synthesizing the various knowledge characteristics into four distinct KTC dimensions including: explicitness, depth, diversity, and rate of knowledge transfer (KT). Based on the notion of fit between knowledge complexity and media capabilities, we ask: which specific KTC dimensions are associated with which particular media capabilities in the context of KT at the individual level? We address this question using a meta-analysis methodology, and consider four key media capabilities in the media synchronicity theory. We examine 162 effect sizes from 70 journal publications and dissertations. Preliminary results provide support for the hypotheses that explicitness of knowledge requires high media parallelism, while depth of knowledge requires a media with high transmission velocity. As hypothesized, diversity of knowledge is associated with reprocessability, and rate of KT is associated with symbol sets, although these correlations are significant only with fail-safe statistic at this stage.