This research investigates whether unit power affects interunit
knowledge transfer. We propose that units are more likely to transfer their
knowledge to other units with more critical, nonsubstitutable, and central
knowledge because the latter have greater unit power upon the former. Findings
from two firms reveal that differences in knowledge criticality and
nonsubstitutability predict the degree of power one unit has upon another.
However, only findings from one firm supported the mediating effect of unit power
on knowledge transfer from a source to a seeker, suggesting that the role of unit
power in affecting interunit knowledge transfer may be contingent on the degree of
goal interdependence among units.