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In new product development settings, knowledge can be both a source of— and a barrier to—innovation.

As organizations manage knowledge across functional boundaries, they often face obstacles to knowledge transfer. Knowledge tends to become localized, embedded, and invested in particular practices, which can undermine PD efforts. Our research proposes that knowledge is not so much transferred across boundaries as it is transformed. Using boundary objects and other technologies, we have developed cross-boundary practices that render knowledge transfer more concrete and negotiable.