Knowledge management in client–vendor partnerships

► We examine factors affecting knowledge transfer, mechanisms for knowledge dissemination and the impact on the IT function. ► Communication among team members is crucial for knowledge sharing. ► Firms need to have mechanisms to disseminate knowledge gained from vendors. ► Key impact of partnerships includes obtaining efficient and effective IT solutions and streamlining of business processes. ► Results provide better understanding of how client–vendor partnership can be managed more effectively. Partnerships between business clients and vendors are increasingly becoming more common as firms strive to reduce cost and outsource non-core activities. Some firms proactively manage the knowledge gained from such partnership while others do so to a lesser extent. Through a questionnaire survey of business clients in Singapore, this study helps to shed some light on the nature of client–vendor partnership, factors affecting knowledge transfer (defined in terms of knowledge codifiability, client's motivation for partnership, vendor's willingness to share, and trust between client and vendor). In addition, we also examine mechanisms for knowledge dissemination within the client organization and the impact on the IT function. The results should be of interest to both researchers and practitioners in better understanding how such partnership could be managed more effectively.