Employee mobility as a knowledge development strategy

Abstract

Employee mobility (EM) provides organizations with enhanced performance, value creation, innovation, and creativity. However, EM plays a frequently indicated but less emphasized role in an organization's knowledge. The existing body of EM research is characterized by diverse perspectives and contradictory findings, creating a significant gap in our understanding of how organizations can effectively access and leverage the critical knowledge carried by employees. This integrative review aims to bridge this gap by synthesizing diverse mobility perspectives, delving into theoretical underpinnings, and exploring the dynamics of knowledge flow. The review is guided by the two research questions: (1) How is EM conceptualized as a knowledge flow mechanism in the existing literature? and (2) What mechanisms can organizations employ to use EM as a knowledge development strategy? Through a comprehensive analysis, we present a framework encompassing seven strategies: knowledge dissemination, knowledge creation, knowledge combination, knowledge adoption, knowledge spill-in, knowledge retention, and knowledge protection. This framework contributes to the understanding that organizations can use internal mobility to disseminate embedded knowledge and create new knowledge. Inward mobility plays a crucial role in enabling organizations to combine (similar) knowledge and adopt specific knowledge from external sources. Interestingly, outward mobility, despite the loss of employees, serves as a mechanism of reverse knowledge flow. Additionally, organizations employ strategies to control outward mobility by retaining and protecting critical knowledge. Building on the identified strategies, the paper suggests promising avenues for further research, thereby paving the way for scholars and practitioners to consider EM as a knowledge development strategy.