Knowledge sharing in QS firms is extremely common. Almost all QSs share their knowledge with others at work, and the methods used by the HKQS and UKQS groups to acquire or transfer knowledge are very similar. In terms of practices provided by their companies, the most common practices that they use to acquire or transfer knowledge are, in descending order, use of database, company library, e-mail system, internal training course, talks and seminars, and lessons learned from previous projects. In terms of personal methods to acquire or transfer knowledge, the most common practices they use are, in descending order, talking with colleagues, talking with team members on the same project, and reading professional books, journals and magazines. In general, the extent to which the QSs surveyed use those prevalent methods ranges from sometimes to often , which means that they use those practices frequently. However, for other practices such as knowledge-sharing meetings, or peer tutoring and mentoring systems, the frequency ranges from seldom to sometimes , which means that these QSs use other practices rarely.

These findings reflect that the practices commonly used by QSs are rather traditional, such as the company library, e-mail system and database, whereas more innovative methods, such as knowledge-sharing boards and interviews to capture or transfer knowledge, are relatively seldom used. As company libraries, e-mail systems and databases merely transfer information or codified knowledge to the user, which may not help them in making decisions, the efficiency of these practices in transferring knowledge is limited. In...