Trust and Knowledge Transfer between Business Partners: the Mediating Effects of Three Factors

Knowledge transfer is of vital importance for business partners. The influence of trust between business partners in particular on knowledge transfer is evident. However, it is not clear how the relationship between trust and knowledge transfer works. This study provides a better understanding of that relationship by demonstrating that communication, cooperative behavior and fear of losing one´s unique value have a mediating effect on the relationship between trust and knowledge transfer. Specifically, trust increases knowledge transfer through improving communication, improving cooperative behavior, and reducing fear of losing one´s unique value. These findings have important implications at both a managerial and theoretical level. For managers, this paper emphasizes trust´s central role in the knowledge transfer process in terms of communication, cooperative behavior and fear of losing one´s unique value. On the theoretical level, this study provides empirical evidence for three mechanisms that help explain the effect of trust on knowledge transfer between business partners.