Relationship between Task Structure and Knowledge Transfer in Banking Technology Project among Kenyan Commercial Banks

Abstract

Inadequate knowledge transfer negatively affects technology adoption as business strategy.Knowledge management capabilities improve sustainable competitive advantage of organizations. A review of the available literature suggests that the relationship between task characteristics such as task structure and knowledge transfer capabilities is under researched.  The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between task structure and knowledge transfer in banking technology projects among Kenyan commercial banks. A quantitative research methodology was used in the study to achieve the study objectives. Stratified sampling technique was used to get 126 respondents from the registered 43 commercial banks' management employees. The data analysis techniques such as descriptive statistics, inferential analysis, and linear regression were used to analyse the data. The study results show that there is a strong, positive, direct and significant relationship between task structure and knowledge transfer in banking technology projects among Kenyan Commercial Banks.  Therefore, this study concludes that task structure has a strong, positive, direct and significant relationship with knowledge transfer in banking technology projects among Kenyan Commercial Banks. The study recommends that during banking technology projects, tasks should be clearly structured, and defined through documentation task knowledge in an enabling socio-technical environment. A well-structured task motivates employees to engage in knowledge transfer activities such as knowledge seeking, knowledge acquisition, knowledge internalization, and knowledge application. Managers should therefore ensure that an enabling socio-technical environment and a conducive knowledge work support system exist in a banking technology project organisation. The study suggests further research targeting other well-known task characteristics variables in varying environment or context to assess their relationship with knowledge transfer towards their inclusion in the knowledge management theories and practice.