Improving customer knowledge transfer in industrial firms: how does previous work experience influence the effect of reward systems?

Purpose – This paper aims to improve customer knowledge management practices in industrial firms by examining the role of knowledge integration mechanisms (KIMs) and customer-oriented reward systems in non-marketing managers’ use of customer information. Design/methodology/approach – Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 221 R & D and manufacturing managers from large, Finnish industrial companies. Ordinary least squares regression with bootstrap procedures was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – The use of KIMs mediates the positive effect of customer-oriented reward systems on non-marketing managers’ use of customer information. However, non-marketing managers’ previous work experience in sales and marketing negatively moderates the effect of customer-oriented reward systems on the use of customer information. The use of knowledge integration systems mediates this moderation effect. Research limitations/implications – This paper provides empirical evidence concerning the antecedents of successful customer knowledge transfer from sales and marketing to R & D and manufacturing. The findings imply that non-marketing managers with T-shaped skills (previous work experience also in sales and marketing) are unlikely to increase their use of KIMs if they are exposed to customer-oriented reward systems. Hence, broadening employees’ knowledge base substitutes for using customer-oriented reward systems as a tool for improving customer information use. Originality/value – Building on the research on customer knowledge management, marketing’s cross-functional relationships and the motivation for knowledge transfer, this paper increases our understanding of how to develop organizational support for customer knowledge transfer. The authors consider both the impact of reward systems and their interaction with employees’ knowledge and skills.