Over the last three decades, there has been considerable transformation of global higher education institutions from a traditional role of teaching towards a contemporary role of diversified teaching, with intensive research and knowledge transfer taking place locally and internationally. Institutional transformations in Hong Kong’s higher education system over the last decade were no exception. Decentralised governance, increasing public accountability, social and economic responsibilities, enhancing quality and research excellence, sustaining society’s development through community engagement and knowledge transfer are essential changing functions and missions driving knowledge transfer strategy differences in the process of dynamic transformation. Knowledge transfer literatures reveal that they are usually associated with the third mission of higher education institutions, particularly in the knowledge-based economy context while facing society’s demanding role expectations and institutions’ fundamental transformation needs. To succeed in knowledge transfer and achieve the third mission, do different knowledge transfer strategies matter at the institutional and academic-based levels for striking challenges derived from the contemporary role and the mission of institutions? Nevertheless, different conceptual understandings of knowledge transfer, say interpreting from policy, implementation, organisation, and developmental perspective, may result in different interpretations on institutions’ strategy formulation, dissemination and implementation. However, these further align with their specified missions, roles, strengths, and stages of knowledge transfer development, inter alia, some identified knowledge transfer models. With the importance of achieving educational and social missions while enhancing sustainability through institutional knowledge transfer initiatives globally, there seems to be a lack of relevant studies in knowledge transfer strategies related to