Andrea Bencsik

Wekerle International University Budapest,

Hungary

bencsik.andrea@yahoo.com

ORCID 0000-0001-8204-3706

Inter-organisational knowledge transfer practices for SMEs

Jaroslav Belas

University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów

Poland

Email: belas111@gmail.com

ORCID 0000-0002-5900-997X

Abstract. The study of knowledge management system design and operation has a history of several decades, yet several research gaps can be found in the literature. Prominent among these is research among SMEs, particularly concerning knowledge management processes that influence their successful operation. This research aimed to explore which factors most influence the success of SMEs through knowledge transfer. The quantitative research, conducted in 2023-24, asked managers of Hungarian and Slovak SMEs about business-to-business knowledge transfer solutions and their impact on business success. This paper presents a part of the research, which investigated the prevalence of knowledge transfer (knowledge acquisition and transfer) between organisations using PLS-SEM path analysis.  A total of 442 enterprises were involved in the two countries. The results show that SMEs have a limited amount and quality of internal knowledge and therefore acquire much of the new knowledge they need from external sources. Nevertheless, they are willing to share a small part of their knowledge with other market players. They are reluctant to share knowledge related to their activities and the characteristics of their products and services. The impact of knowledge transfer on success is not valued. Confidence is significantly more influential than communication in influencing external and internal knowledge transfer on the success of the enterprise.

Received: December, 2024

1st Revision: September, 2025

Accepted: December, 2025

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2025/18-4/8

JEL Classification: L2, M12, M21

Keywords: knowledge management, knowledge sharing, SME, trust, communication