The relationship between the social structure of knowledge systems and knowledge syntheses is explored in order to define the social and cultural requirements for effective linkage. Following an introduction (section 1), analysis is divided into 5 additional sections. Section 2 discusses tools for conceptualizing knowledge systems, including social knowledge systems in simple and complex societies, major functions performed by knowledge-related activities (knowledge production, organization and structuring of knowledge, distribution of knowledge, and storage of knowledge), and the social construction of reality. Section 3 considers linkages between national knowledge systems through international channels. The quantitative increases in students from less developed nations, increasing numbers of scientific and professional organizations, and the growth of international development assistance have all aided the globalization of interaction and transfer of knowledge. Section 4 outlines four types of linkages: those between research and use within an institutional domain, those from research to use across institutions, those between a central use-oriented region and a peripheral research-oriented region, and those between central research-oriented regions and peripheral use-oriented regions. The diversity of linkage challenges and the roles of different kinds of knowledge syntheses are examined. Sections 5 and 6 assert that certain types of linkages--linkages that cross institutional domains--call predominantly for certain types of knowledge syntheses. (LP)