Bridging Perspectives: Shaping A Common Understanding Through Visual Knowledge Transfer

Our modernized society is continually adapting to new technological advances, leading to a flood of complex data that managers must break down and effectively communicate to ensure organizational alignment at all levels. Virtual collaboration, which has been accelerated in part due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the younger generations’ preferences for visual representations, is one of the most recently observed trends in the global economy. These macro trends mean knowledge-intensive firms and academic institutions have even more reasons to bring visual models into practice. This thesis will begin with a comprehensive review of existing literature and frameworks surrounding knowledge management, followed by knowledge transfer and its visual components as a key process. It will examine the qualities and practical benefits of visual knowledge transfer using visual metaphors as a proxy. Following this review, the empirical contribution of this paper aims to tie visual metaphors and visual knowledge transfer together to better understand the social, emotional, and cognitive factors associated with individuals who are either preparing to enter or are still newly conditioned to a professional working environment. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, an exploratory qualitative analysis becomes the basis for confirming theoretical contributions and developing a hypothetical framework that outlines the inner mechanisms contributing to the successful transfer of knowledge among younger, visually-driven individuals.