Knowledge is widely recognized as a critical organizational resource affecting managerial effectiveness, innovation capacity, competitiveness, and organizational performance. This study examines the extent to which knowledge transfer practices are implemented across the Public and Private sectors in Greece and investigates whether the barriers to knowledge transfer differ between public-sector organizations and private enterprises. The theoretical framework distinguishes between explicit knowledge, which can be codified, stored, and disseminated, and tacit knowledge, which is embedded in employees‘ experience, intuition, skills and practical know-how. Knowledge stickiness refers to difficulties in transferring knowledge between individuals or organizational units. The SECI model further explains knowledge creation through socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization, emphasizing the interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge. The empirical analysis was based on eight semi-structured interviews with four public-sector managers and four managers from private enterprises. The qualitative data were analyzed using NVivo 13 through thematic coding and keyword analysis. Findings indicate that knowledge transfer in the public sector relies largely on informal exchanges, individual initiatives, and responses to specific operational needs. Limited structured training, mentoring, knowledge repositories, and performance evaluation systems make knowledge sharing predominantly reactive and dependent on individual employees. Knowledge transfer in the private sector, by contrast demonstrate more formalized practices through onboarding, training, performance appraisal, and mechanisms linking knowledge sharing to organizational performance. However, effective knowledge transfer also depends on managerial commitment, resources, institutional capacity, and regulatory conditions rather than sector alone. Barriers exist in both sectors, including organizational silos, knowledge stickiness, knowledge hoarding, and low trust. In the public sector, barriers are associated mainly with bureaucracy, hierarchy, weak incentives, and limited collaboration, whereas in the private sector they are linked more strongly to internal competition, career concerns, and individual performance. Overall, organizational culture and institutional conditions significantly shape knowledge sharing, organizational memory, and knowledge retention.
JEL Classifications: D83,M10, H00,H83,L32,L33,D00,D73