Possibilities and risks with a knowledge broker in the knowledge transfer process

It is essential that companies of today develop their organisational ability in order to stay competitive in a society that changes continuously. It is often the case that problem solving concerning product and production development, as a mean for development of organisational ability, need knowledge from knowledge resources outside the organisation. The process of gaining knowledge into the organisation can be called a knowledge transfer process. One trend is the development of businesses that act as brokers. The issue dealt with in this paper is to investigate how a broker can facilitate the knowledge transfer processes. Our empirical experiences are based on a case study of LINK Center. LINK Center operates as a broker in order to support the creation of contacts between questioners and knowledge resources. Further, the role of a broker in a knowledge transfer process context is discussed by using the theoretical basis and the case study of LINK Center. We have found that a broker can improve the efficiency of the knowledge transfer process. But, we have also identified, from the case study at LINK Center, several risks by adding an actor between the questioner and the knowledge resource. These risks originate from that the knowledge broker doesn’t have a developed understanding of how knowledge can and should be mediated.