Purpose

Successful knowledge transfer (KT) between younger and older workers (YW and OW, respectively) is critical for organizational success, especially in light of the recent surge in employment volatility among the youngest and oldest segments of the workforce. Yet, practitioners and scholars alike continue to struggle with knowing how best to facilitate these exchanges. The qualitative study offers insight into this phenomenon by exploring how KT unfolds in YW/OW dyads.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed a reflexive thematic analysis of semistructured interviews with two samples of blue- and white-collar younger/older workers from the USA (N = 40), whereby the authors interpreted the “lived experiences” of these workers when engaged in interdependent tasks.

Findings

The analysis, informed by social exchange theory and exchange theories of aging, led to the development of the knowledge transfer process model in younger/older worker dyads (KT-YOD). The model illustrates that, through different combinations of competence and humility, KT success is experienced either directly (by workers weighing the perceived benefits versus costs of KT) and/or indirectly (through different bases of trust/distrust perceived within their dyads). Further, humility in dyads appears to be necessary for KT success, while competence was insufficient for realizing KT success, independently.

Originality/value

In exposing new inner workings of the KT process in YW/OW dyads, the study introduces the importance of humility and brings scholars and organizations a step closer toward realizing the benefits of age diversity in their workplaces.

中文翻译：

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在年轻/年长工人二人组中建立知识转移所需的信任时，不谦虚的能力是否会被浪费？

目的

年轻员工和年长员工（分别为 YW 和 OW）之间成功的知识转移 (KT) 对于组织的成功至关重要，特别是考虑到最近劳动力中最年轻和最年长群体的就业波动性激增。然而，从业者和学者都在努力了解如何最好地促进这些交流。定性研究通过探索 KT 如何在 YW/OW 二元组中展开，深入了解了这一现象。

设计/方法论/途径

作者对来自美国的两个蓝领和白领年轻/老年工人样本（N = 40）进行了半结构化访谈的反思性主题分析，作者据此解释了这些工人在从事相互依赖的任务时的“生活经历” 。

发现

该分析以社会交换理论和老龄化交换理论为基础，导致了年轻/老年工人二人组知识转移过程模型（KT-YOD）的发展。该模型表明，通过能力和谦逊的不同组合，KT 的成功可以直接（通过员工权衡 KT 的感知收益与成本）和/或间接（通过他们二人中感知的不同信任/不信任基础）体验到。此外，两人的谦逊似乎对于 KT 的成功是必要的，而能力不足以独立实现 KT 的成功。

原创性/价值

该研究揭示了 YW/OW 组合中 KT 过程的新内部运作方式，介绍了谦逊的重要性，并使学者和组织更接近于实现工作场所年龄多样性的好处。