Knowledge translation in the football industry: a primary study

Purpose: Knowledge translation activated by knowledge-intensive organizations is supported by several factors among which intangibles assets. This paper aims at analysing knowledge translation and organisational performance in the football industry, discovering both the role of professional football players' skills transfer and determinants helping to achieve positive performance at organizational level. Design/methodology/approach: The research question is answered through a quantitative method using both the multiple regression analysis and the network analysis. This research investigates the performance of the professional football players before and after the transfer process from a club (source organization) to another club (recipient organization) in order to analyse the intra-organizations dynamics. Originality: We try to understand which factors are helping knowledge and specialist knowledge to be transferred and to contribute to the successful run of organisations in the football industry. Findings: We show the need for the coexistence of variables’ combinations to achieve the transferability of professional football players’ capabilities and performance. Practical implications: The results of this paper are for academic community, practitioners and policy makers as theoretical and practical advances.