The aim of this paper is to determine the relevance of organizational factors on the means and intensity of knowledge transfer among Humanities and Social Science (HSS) research groups in the Spanish context. We conduct a descriptive and correlation analysis on a sample of HSS research groups from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). Results show that a focus on knowledge transfer is not related to how groups and institutes are organized. Nevertheless, this activity is correlated with economic incentives and a management adapted to the specific characteristics of the HSS area. We also show the influence of CSIC?s policy and management on the informal nature of the relationships among research groups and external agents. Thus, knowledge transfer activities carried out by researchers regardless of institutional organization are related to a lack of awareness about the institutional and personal advantages to be gained from formalizing these activities.