Reham ANJUM, Hadi Hassan KHAN, Safa BANO, Sidra NAZIR, Hira GULRAIZ, Wahab AHMED / Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business Vol 8 No 2 (2021) 0851–0860 851 851 Print ISSN: 2288-4637 / Online ISSN 2288-4645 doi:10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no2.0851 A Latent Factor (PLS-SEM) Approach: Assessing the Determinants of Effective Knowledge Transfer Reham ANJUM 1 , Hadi Hassan KHAN 2 , Safia BANO 3 , Sidra NAZIR 4 , Hira GULRAIZ 5 , Wahab AHMED 6 Received: November 05, 2020 Revised: January 05, 2021 Accepted: January 15, 2021 Abstract The Knowledge Transfer (KT) for higher education institutions (HEIs) is boundless. Still and all, the members of the staff affiliated with these institutions do recognize an array of hitches in relation to KT practices. The study in question underscores social interactions, training, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as the primary barriers and treats them as the independent variables of the study. The study posits that inadequate management of the above-mentioned barriers would impact effective KT unfavorably. Besides, putting forth some striking solutions needed to fix the obstructions that hamper the adequate management of the KT exercises is another aim of the study. For data collection purposes, the study picks out higher education institutions (public) of the Quetta district. The reckoned sample size is 317 subjects. The research type that has been used is cross-sectional research and, in this context, the cross-sectional explanatory sequential design has been used. Concerning the findings of the paper, the results of PLS-SEM show positive and significant relationships of social interaction and training with knowledge transfer, while ICT shows an insignificant positive relationship with the knowledge transfer. The most influencing factor for the knowledge transfer is social interaction as suggested by social interaction theory. Keywords: Knowledge Transfer, Social Interaction, Training and Development, Information and Communication Technology JEL Classification Code: C38, M10, M15, M53 1. Introduction The unpredictable environment of today considers knowledge as the cornerstone of success and a key to buoy the economy. Considering the overriding importance of knowledge, the developed societies seek to promote knowledge as a cure-all for survival and that one factor which they can rely upon to gain a competitive edge (Burns, Acar, & Datta, 2011; Makani & Marche, 2012). The knowledge has been outlined in a range of styles by varied researchers (Roberts, 2000). Al‐Adaileh and Al‐Atawi (2011) professed that knowledge is the blend of values, practices, and skills that help in future intercourse. Pai (2006) purported that it as the blend of data and details without excluding the skillfulness, beliefs, and adeptness likely to amplify the value of the data & information gathered via any Knowledge transfer exercise to augment mutually beneficial partnerships between companies, universities, and public sector. Just like knowledge management (KM), knowledge transfer arranges, creates, seizes, and disperses knowledge and ensures that it is available for prospective customers. The primary drawbacks of the prior studies can be highlighted here. Hermann (2011) looked at the knowledge 1 First Author. Lecture, Department of Management Sciences, Faculty of Management Sciences, Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering & Management Sciences, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. Email: reham.anjum25@gmail.com 2 Corresponding Author. Assistant Professor, Department of Management Sciences, Faculty of Management Sciences, Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering & Management Sciences, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan [Postal Address: City Campus, Jinnah Town, Samungli Road, Quetta, Balochistan, 87200, Pakistan] Email: hadihassankhan@gmail.com 3 Assistant Professor, Institute of Management Sciences, University of Balochistan Quetta, Pakistan. Email: sb_ims@yahoo.com 4 Lecturer, Department of Economics, Faculty of Management Sciences, Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering & Management Sciences, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. Email: sydramalyk123@gmail.com 5 Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering & Management Sciences, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. Email: hiragulraiz@hotmail.com 6 Lecturer, Department of Management Sciences, Muslim Bagh Campus, Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering & Management Sciences, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. Email: wahhabahmed2017@gmail.com © Copyright: The Author(s) This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.