The dark side of knowledge transfer: A visual analysis using VOSviewer

Abstract

Building the core competitiveness and improving the innovation performance of the team is becoming increasingly important to keep pace with changing economic environments and emerging technological opportunities. However, the dark side of knowledge transfer can lead to a series of harmful consequences which will destroy the core competitiveness and creativity of the team, even will reduce the innovation performance of the team. And the literature on the dark side knowledge transfer is very fragmented and lack of coherence, leading to more needs to systematically sort through studies on the dark sides of knowledge transfer. Therefore, this paper aims at reviewing the extant knowledge transfer and its dark side research field to understand the historical roots, its temporal progression, current state and potential future in a meaningful way. Data for this study were retrieved from the Web of Science database using a systematic literature search process. The bibliometric characteristics of 926 research documents were analyzed using bibliometric and knowledge mapping analysis. Based on a visual analysis tool VOSviewer, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the dark side of the knowledge transfer research field. The authors provide a quantitative review of these studies through the use of three bibliometric techniques: general description analysis, co-word analysis, and bibliographic coupling. This paper provides an overview of the annual publication trends, most productive and impactful countries, authors, and sources. The authors present an overview of historical progression, current status, and future directions of the dark side of knowledge transfer research based on an in-depth content analysis of these knowledge maps. This is a unique endeavor to accomplish a systematic bibliometric analysis of the dark side of knowledge transfer, offering an intellectual framework which reveals the antecedents and consequences of the dark side of knowledge transfer.