ERIC Number: EJ1466552
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0969-6474
EISSN: EISSN-1758-7905
Available Date: 2024-05-01
Leveraging Liminality: How the Interim Manager's Liminal Position Facilitates Knowledge Transfer to Client Organizations
Viktoria Rubin1
Learning Organization, v32 n2 p169-190 2025
Purpose: With the rise of the gig economy, management positions are increasingly staffed with flexible labor, so-called interim managers. They plunge into organizations for a limited period, operating in a liminal position as partly insider, partly outsider. Although several contributions to their client organizations are acknowledged, it is unknown how the interim manager's knowledge from previous assignments is made useful in the new context under these particular working conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of how the interim manager's knowledge is transferred to the client organization while operating from a liminal position. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents an interview-based multiple case study of six interim assignments where knowledge transfer is considered a social and context-dependent process. Findings: The findings unveil the multifaceted nature of the liminal position, which consists of task orientation, time limitation, political detachment and cultural distance. These facets contribute to knowledge transfer in terms of new shared understandings and joint interests, which in turn might create new practices that augment continuous knowledge-sharing patterns. Originality/value: The results contribute to the research on flexible work arrangements by shedding light on how the liminal position, predominantly depicted as an obstacle for the individual, might facilitate knowledge transfer. Through the process of knowledge generation, it is shown how a short-term engagement might enable the organization to increase its knowledge over time.
Descriptors: Temporary Employment, Administrators, Knowledge Level, Transfer of Training, Professional Services, Foreign Countries, Work Attitudes, Interprofessional Relationship, Work Environment, Context Effect, Social Influences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Education, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden