Ryan K LAHTI-Michael M. BEYERLEIN KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTING: A LOOK AT „THE FIRM” . I In the authors4 view, a firm's competitive advantage comes from the value it can develop for its customers. Most successful firms today can be considered „intelligent enterprises” because they transform intellectual assets into product and service outputs. It follows that knowledge transfer is especially critical for the functioning of a man agement consulting firm, because knowledge is the cornerstone of the services such a firm offers its clients. W hat is knowledge transfer (KT), and how does it relate to an organization? Why should a business such as a man agement consulting firm be concerned with it? Quinn (1992) maintains that most successful firms today can be considered "intelligent enterprises" because they transform intellectual assets from human input into product and service outputs. In both the service and manufacturing industries, most of the processes that contribute value to these outputs develop from knowledgebased activities (especially KT). Although KT is necessary for all organizations, it is especially critical for the functioning of a management consulting firm, because knowl edge is the cornerstone of the services such a firm offers its clients. Porter's (1985) work on organizational competitive advan tage relates to this line of reasoning. He identified three gener al strategies for a company to establish an edge over its com petitors in the marketplace: cart-providing products and/or services at the lowest price in the industry; differentiation-provid\ng products and/or services unique ly related to a particular attribute (or multiple attributes) that customers value, which enables the firm to receive a premium dollar amount from its customers; and /bacv-meeting the needs of a select industry segment while omitting other segments. A firm's competitive advantage comes from the value it can develop for its customers-value at emanates from the knowledge of its employees. As Tobin (1998) pointed out, VEZETÉSTUDOMÁNY employee knowledge is really what helps distinguish a firm from its competitors. Used via Porter's strategies, it determines a firm's competitive edge. This is specially true for a consult ing firm, because its sustained success depends on the solutions its consultants provide to their clients. More specifically its sus tained success is driven by he knowledge of its consultants, which is used to develop and deliver the service solutions to its clients. In discussing knowledge as well as how it is managed and transferred, we shall offer a case example of a consulting firm that relies on KT as an integral part of its functioning. In doing so, we aim to provide a starting point for addressing future issues related to KT, such as research and the refinement of consulting ser vices. KNOWLEDGE A number of philosophers, researchers, and practitioners have attempted to define the concept of knowledge. Polanyi (1966) believed that knowledge, or the process of knowing, is personal and related to the individual. It can be viewed as a type of "intellectual capital" that has the ability to change how individuals and organizations view and create the world around them. Quinn, Anderson, and Finkelstein (1996) believe that the "intellect of an organization, in order of The process of managing and transferring knowledge effectively is the next big phase in the struggle for competitive advantage. XXXI. rvF 2000. 07-08. szám 91