Estimates are that Fortune 500 companies lose, in aggregate, $30 billion annually, simply through failure to share knowledge within their organization (Quast, 2012). Knowledge sharing has become a crucial component in the business world today. Researchers have dissected the determinants of knowledge sharing and the role of knowledge sharing in management, but none have considered what happens after the sharing occurs. We believe that there is a significant gap in the knowledge sharing literature – specifically the lack of connection between knowledge sharing activities and strategic gain within an organization. Our research aims to develop a new construct to explain how knowledge is leveraged for strategic gain in the organization. Through this term, we have worked to refine existing literature reviews of the question of knowledge leveraging and reviewed the outcomes of a Pilot quantitative study. Initial feedback from the Pilot Study suggests the value of a piece of knowledge and the degree of control an individual feels affects an individual’s choice to act on knowledge. This research will make an immediate and important impact on the association community by furthering its understanding of this key construct and increasing dialogue on the topic, holding the potential to answer questions that managers grapple with including: Which employees are most likely to act on a piece of knowledge? Who really should be asked to work on the most important projects?
