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Abstract: An important aspect of knowledge management is the transfer of know-how between generations. This raises the question of how new employees, especially young professionals, can acquire this knowledge from older generations in an efficient and sustainable way. This can potentially necessitate the creation of incentives for both sides. For the older generation, the rewards must be of such a high quality that they are willing to pass on their expertise without seeing the younger generation as a threat. For the younger generation, ways must be created to accept the knowledge of the older generation as being of great value. In this paper, the authors discuss two methods that can facilitate this process. Gamification, to make the reward systems visible, and nudging, to trigger the benefits of these reward systems. Furthermore, by developing a working prototype, the authors describe how the actual rewards can be stored on Blockchain-based tokens in order to be represented in a permanent and provable way. This system can be supported by machine learning and the long-term preparation of adaptive learning systems, so that the knowledge of the older generation is ultimately made available to a broad group of people. The theoretical foundations are complemented by an online survey and a focus group with experts from the various fields in order to further corroborate the arguments made.
Keywords: Gamification, Nudging, Blockchain, AI, Adaptive Learning, Intergenerational Knowledge Management
1. Introduction
"Old guns leave and all knowledge is gone"
Knowledge transfer, or the sharing and/or dissemination of knowledge between individuals and/or organisations in order to ensure its longevity through time and consequently its availability for future users, is a major field in organizational theory. This paper focusses on intragenerational knowledge transfer or the transfer of knowledge between generations, more specifically on the:
* initiation of knowledge transfer through an increased motivation using methods, such as gamification and nudging;
* storage of the knowledge itself, including the documentation of knowledge transfer, using systems, such as decentralized structures, in particular Blockchain technologies.
While the individual aspects, i.e. intergenerational knowledge transfer, gamification, artificial intelligence (AI) and more recently Blockchain technologies in knowledge management are already researched, their combination presents the novelty underpinning this academic contribution. And in this sense, the critical analysis presented in this...