Fokus Wissenstransfer: Auswirkungen des demografischen Wandels und der zunehmenden Digitalisierung auf die Wissenssicherung in österreichischen KMU

  • Thomas Fehringer

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

The shortage of skilled workers in domestic companies, which is exacerbated by demographic change, will also have an impact on SME due to their overall proportion of 99.8 % of all companies in Austria. In particular, the retirement of baby boomers and the associated loss of knowledge will have a negative impact on the competitiveness of companies. Therefore, Austrian SME face the challenge of transferring the knowledge of retiring employees from one generation to another generation using suitable knowledge transfer methods. The detailed theoretical analysis of relevant literature at the beginning of this master's thesis provides a closer look at the skilled labor situation in Austrian SME. In addition, key terms such as SME, skilled and unskilled workers are defined in more detail. The situation on the Austrian labour market is explained and the socialization and the values of the generations on the labour market are described. This creates a basic understanding of the prevailing situation and possible causes of barriers to knowledge transfer. Furthermore, selected methods for SME, the transfer of tacit knowledge and intergenerational knowledge transfer are described on the basis of the literature. Based on the results of the literature research, an empirical survey was conducted using questionnaires in Austrian SME, both analog and online. Afterwards, the questionnaires were evaluated and analyzed. Finally, recommendations for the use of knowledge transfer methods were derived for each company size and each generational constellation. One of the key findings of this study is that the disrespectful treatment by colleagues, a poor working atmosphere and a lack of trust and teamwork are major social barriers to the transfer of knowledge. The fear of the younger generations of embarrassing themselves when sharing knowledge, as cited in the literature, was confirmed. With regard to technological hurdles, the participants identified a lack of experience, low usage and poor skills in dealing with technology as barriers. In addition to deriving individual recommendations for the use of suitable knowledge transfer methods depending on company size and generational constellation, an overall analysis also revealed that it is not the size of the company but rather the generational affiliation that influences the choice of knowledge transfer method. The generally preferred knowledge transfer methods are mentoring and communities of practice.
Date of Award2024
Original languageGerman (Austria)
SupervisorHarald Jauschnig (Supervisor)

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