Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Howard Schechter

Abstract

Retirement of baby boomers results in institutional knowledge loss and gaps in business continuity. The specific management problem is that managers in American higher education institutions have challenges maintaining business continuity as they lose institutional knowledge when baby boomers retire and millennials assume those positions. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how organizational managers in online universities are transferring tacit knowledge from the retiring baby boomers to their millennial replacements to maintain business continuity. The conceptual framework of this study was based on Bridges’s model on transition to capture the effects of the generational changes occurring in the workforce. The overarching research questions focused on how managers in an online higher education institution manage knowledge to transfer to new managers and support business continuity for their institution. Data were collected through interviews and documents from 20 baby boomers, Gen Xers, and millennial managers employed with the institution for at least three years. Yin’s five steps for qualitative data analysis and thematic coding were used to identify three key findings. One finding suggested that knowledge management should be a strategic priority, supported by institutional technology systems, procedures, and policies. Another finding identified the importance of succession planning and knowledge sharing to support business continuity through change and transition. This research study could lead to positive social change by aiding universities to prepare for future workforce changes by developing strategies to retain tacit knowledge, which will support business continuity efforts and allow them to support the communities they serve.

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