The role of culture on knowledge transfer: the case of the multinational corporation

International research collaboration: is Africa different? A cross-country panel data analysis

International research collaboration (IRC) has been relevant for the development of national scientific systems. In Africa, given the limited resources devoted to research and development (R&D) activities and the crucial role that scientific knowledge generated through research activities can have in socioeconomic development, IRC may be an opportunity to strengthen scientific capabilities. While geographical, economic, political/governance, cultural, intellectual and excellence distance hampers IRC in other regions, we argue that economic and excellence distances actuate differently in Africa. We explored the impact of the variables above in addition to the information and communication technologies (ICTs), and social distances on the IRC of these countries. Using panel data for 54 African economies, our results show that economic distance fosters IRC while governance and excellence distances are non-significant. Past collaborations (one out of two proxies for social distance) and speaking the same language have the highest effect on IRC, and ICTs distance the lowest. The results have implications for science policy in Africa. For instance, we argue that science policies need to be adapted to each environment as the scientific landscape in each country is unique.

Intellectual capital and knowledge management for overcoming social and economic barriers in the health-care sector

Purpose

This study aims to explore how knowledge management (KM) influences the intellectual capital (IC) of organizations operating in health care and how IC and knowledge-sharing (KS) can contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in health systems. Notably, this study focuses on telemedicine, investigating how relational capital contributes to KS in the context of remote care services.

Design/methodology/approach

To comply with the paper’s aim, the authors use a qualitative research method based on a polar case study suitable for IC in health-care studies. More precisely, this study analyzes a nonprofit organization that, for over 15 years, has offered a free multispecialist teleconsultation service to answer medical questions from the most disadvantaged places in the world.

Findings

The findings show that the KM significantly contributes to the IC of organizations. Indeed, it improves the data management and transmission system, it increases performance flexibility in times of resource scarcity without compromising business objectives and it can attract new human resources even when not motivated by selfish goals (volunteer physicians).

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to studies on IC in health care by focusing on the contribution of telemedicine to the creation of IC. In particular, this work emphasizes the ability of telemedicine to develop and share knowledge in disadvantaged areas of the world. Moreover, in the current context, still strongly permeated by the health emergency generated by the pandemic and recently by the war in Eastern Europe, the importance of such assistance and diagnosis grows.

Practical implications

The conclusions the research findings lead may guide policymakers toward a policy supporting telemedicine. It would alleviate general health-care costs and completely revolutionize light health care’s role. Moreover, reducing socioeconomic distances, improving access to care and applying innovative technologies for sharing outcomes foster balanced socioeconomic development and knowledge dissemination.

Originality/value

This research has shown how telemedicine represents a new successful business model even in times of crisis. The organizational model makes it possible to offer cutting-edge specialized care, contain costs, easily reach disadvantaged areas of the planet, strengthen the skills and autonomy of the most backward countries through a process of KS and push the structures operating there to interact with those in advanced countries.

[Successful knowledge exchange in virtual teams-how important is social presence?]

Effective knowledge sharing is a key process for the success of virtual teams. Several specific challenges like the information technology used, the geographical distribution and the lack of personal contact between team members make it difficult to share knowledge.Current studies on influencing factors of effective knowledge sharing in virtual teams focus either mainly on technical or social factors. In contrast, little attention has been paid to the role of social presence as an interdisciplinary construct. Social presence means the individual or joint experience of a sense of togetherness despite physical distance, which arises in the interaction between the team members while using the existing technology.The present study examines to what extent the experience of social presence influences the success of knowledge sharing in virtual teams.Based on the Critical Incident Technique 26 interviews were conducted with members of virtual teams. The participants described situations in which the virtual knowledge exchange was successful or unsuccessful. The evaluation showed that social presence occurred more frequently in successful situations and emphasized its significance for a successful exchange of knowledge.Practical relevance: Social presence can be positively influenced by media richness and support social processes and relationships in virtual teams. The results can be used to derive implications for virtual collaboration with the aim of optimizing knowledge sharing processes.

Influence of national culture on knowledge management process: literature review and research agenda

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore, understand and investigate the relationship between national culture and knowledge management (KM) process.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on systematically and objectively capturing the contents of extant research papers published by researchers in this area by using the literature review methodology.

Findings

The study demonstrates significant relationship between national culture and KM process. Further, it also provides directions for future research.

Practical implications

The study will help top management to understand and appreciate the impact of national culture on KM process in organization, where people from different nations are working together. The management may apply appropriate organizational interventions to manage people of different national cultures in effective manner and effective utilization of knowledge of the organization through KM process. This paper will be considered as a quick reference and resource for anyone interested in this area.

Originality/value

This study is a comprehensive literature review of influence of national culture on KM process. Further, it also sets the research agenda for future researchers.

Pro-Environmental Organizational Culture: Its Essence and a Concept for Its Operationalization

Organizational culture is currently considered a critical factor in achieving success in any business activity, including the implementation of the idea of sustainability. Sustainability-driven organizations incorporate a triple bottom line approach, which promotes the collateral achievement of companies’ environmental, economic, and social goals. The first bottom line is related to environmental sustainability. This bottom line should be facilitated by a pro-environmental organizational culture (PE culture). A company should strive to bring this culture to the highest possible level. Although in the literature on the subject some research on the factors that influence employees’ pro-environmental behavior have been presented, environmental sustainability in the context of organizational culture has received comparatively little attention. So far, the concept of levels of PE culture and the corresponding measurement instrument have not been developed. The aim of this paper is to present the concept of a pro-environmental organizational culture and its operationalization to support the achievement of sustainability goals. Operationalization is the process of determining the extension of a concept, which in turn transforms the concept into a metric. This paper presents a four-level concept of PE culture and a research instrument developed for the purpose of measuring the cultural level in organizations. The instrument was tested in a manufacturing company.

Looking beyond knowledge sharing: an integrative approach to knowledge management culture

Purpose

This study aims to identify the main knowledge processes associated with organizational knowledge culture. A diverse range of knowledge processes have been referred to in the extant literature, but little agreement exists on which knowledge processes are critical and should be supported by organizational culture.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a systematic literature review methodology, this study examined the primary literature – peer-reviewed and scholarly articles published in the top seven knowledge management and intellectual capital (KM/IC)-related journals.

Findings

The core knowledge processes have been identified – knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and knowledge implementation. The paper suggests that a strategy for implementing successful organizational KM initiatives requires precise understanding and effective management of the core knowledge infrastructures and processes. Although technology infrastructure is an important aspect of any KM initiative, the integration of knowledge into management decisions and practices relies on the extent to which the organizational culture supports or hinders knowledge processes.

Research limitations/implications

The focus of the study was on the articles published in the top seven KM/IC journals; important contributions in relevant publications in other KM journals, conference papers, books and professional reports may have been excluded.

Practical implications

Practitioners will benefit from a better understanding of knowledge processes involved in KM initiatives and investments. From a managerial perspective, the study offers an overview of the state of organizational knowledge culture research and suggests that for KM initiatives to be successful, the organization requires an integrated culture that is concerned with knowledge processes as a set of inextricably inter-related processes.

Originality/value

For the first time, a comprehensive list of diverse terms used in describing knowledge processes has been identified. The findings remove the conceptual ambiguity resulting from the inconsistent use of different terms for the same knowledge process by identifying the three major and overarching knowledge processes. Moreover, this study points to the need to attend to the inextricably interrelated nature of these three knowledge processes. Finally, this is the first time that a study provides evidence that shows the KM studies appear to be biased towards Knowledge sharing.

SECI and inter-organizational and intercultural knowledge transfer: a case-study of controversies around a project of co-operation between France and China in the health sector

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the obstacles to knowledge transfer between organizations belonging to different cultures by making use of the socialization–externalization – combination – internalization (SECI) model. The contribution made by this paper is in the use of the SECI model for studying this type of issue. Although it recognizes the epistemological duality between tacit and explicit knowledge, the traditional literature had not adopted this theoretical structure. The explanation for this is an excessively simplistic interpretation of the SECI model in its 1995 version together with a lack of knowledge about Nonaka’s more recent works – Nonaka et al. (2008).

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use a comparative case study opposing a failure and a success, and rely on Latour controversies to account for the context and contradictions. One of the authors worked for five years as a mediator in these projects and adopted the reflective practitioner posture of Schön.

Findings

– Using the SECI model is relevant for studying this question. The results obtained converge with the literature and mark the SECI’s first stage – socialization – as an operation of major importance. The authors show that the failure in knowledge transfer is due to a deficit of socialization, as the lack of prolonged situations of co-presence of the actors, i.e. the lack of shared context, impedes knowledge conversion.

Research limitations/implications

– To go further, conditions of the socialization context must be better specified and developed. Second, cases in other areas than the health sector to observe the circulation of knowledge could be developed.

Practical implications

– The findings suggest ways for managers to fight against knowledge transfer barriers in multicultural contexts, relying on the socialization process.

Social implications

– Accounting for the problem of knowledge transfer in a multicultural context through the SECI model, which focusses on the interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge, opens a fruitful line of reflexion. It would organize trips for French managers in China with a strong intercultural dimension.

Originality/value

– Accounting for the problem of knowledge transfer in a multi culural context through the SECI model, which focusses on the interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge, opens a fruitful line of reflexion.

Exploring different cultural configurations: how do they affect subsidiaries’ knowledge sharing behaviors?

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of different cultural typologies (i.e. innovative, competitive, bureaucratic and community) on employees’ knowledge-sharing processes within multinational corporations (MNCs) by taking a subsidiary perspective. It particularly applies the competing values framework to the study of individuals’ orientations toward sharing knowledge with others while also investigating the influence of top management support on such orientations.

Design/methodology/approach

– To test the proposed hypotheses, in this paper, survey data of 389 employees from six Italian subsidiaries are empirically analyzed by running hierarchical regressions on the two dimensions of knowledge-sharing processes, i.e. knowledge donating and knowledge collecting.

Findings

– The results show that the four types of organizational culture differently affect the knowledge-sharing sub-processes and confirm the importance of a strong top management support to facilitate interpersonal relationships.

Research limitations/implications

– Despite the cross-sectional nature of the data and the limitations arising from the subsidiaries’ position in the country, the findings suggest managers to pay great attention to the positive side of bureaucracy by emphasizing the need for order and efficiency while, at the same time, providing employees with a constant and encouraging support toward knowledge-sharing activities.

Originality/value

– The paper adds empirical evidence to the limited existing research on knowledge-sharing sub-processes of knowledge donating and collecting, extends the understanding of how different organizational cultures affect such processes, and contributes to the literature on MNCs’ knowledge-based activities by adopting a subsidiary perspective.

Meta-analytic comparison on the influencing factors of knowledge transfer in different cultural contexts

Purpose

– This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the influencing factors on knowledge transfer through meta-analysis with an emphasis on the influence of cultural contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

– The approach involved the evaluation and analysis of 69 published empirical studies and the categorization of these studies into two groups based on different cultural contexts as described by Hofstede. A meta-analytic approach was then employed to provide a comparative analysis of the categorized studies.

Findings

– The results of the meta-analysis of the influencing factors of knowledge transfer are consistent with the results obtained in most previous studies, indicating a maturation of research in this area. Influencing factors such as knowledge ambiguity, tie strength, trust, and common cognition are shown to impact knowledge transfer in different cultural contexts, particularly with regard to the individualism-low power distance and collectivism-high power distance dimensions defined by Hofstede.

Research limitations/implications

– This analysis was limited to the correlation between the influencing factors and the general performance in knowledge transfer and did not specifically address more detailed dimensions such as efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, this analysis was restricted to the cultural contexts of only two cultural dimensions. However, the review of this broad range of studies provided sufficient data to allow an in-depth analysis of related influencing factors and helped to illustrate and exemplify the influencing mechanisms of culture on knowledge transfer.

Practical implications

– The results presented in this paper can help managers working in cross-cultural environments to understand the key influencing factors that affect knowledge transfer in the workplace. By understanding these factors, managers can more effectively implement methods and procedures that improve cross-cultural knowledge transfer in the work environment.

Originality/value

– This paper provides a detailed insight into the influencing factors found between two distinctive cultural contexts and offers a fresh analysis of influencing factors with regard to knowledge transfer in a cross-cultural environment.

An Organisational Culture Model for Comparative Studies and Assessment of IT Projects

The research supports the notion that values affect work practices. It develops a comparatively simple organisational cultural model based on four work practices: support orientation, innovation orientation, co-ordination orientation, and rules orientation. For validation, it was operationalised into a 21 item survey questionnaire that mainly used a Likert scale from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” This paper presents the validity and reliability of the items with Cronbach alpha values of between 0.8 and 0.9. Both positive and negative values like trust, honesty, and selfishness affect work practices which are presented as good reflections and measures of organisational culture. The four work practices are reliable and valid reflections of organisational culture. Though not yet extensively tested, the model can be used by IT professionals for assessing IT projects from organisational culture perspective. It also constitutes a useful platform for other research, e.g., effect of organisational culture on knowledge sharing.

Towards a theoretical framework for knowledge transfer in the field of CSR and sustainability

Purpose

The present paper seeks to focus on the processes involved in the knowledge transfer of CSR and sustainability programs and theorises about a conceptual framework that addresses three aspects of such a knowledge transfer process: the “thinking”, the “doing” and the “being”.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a theoretical interdisciplinary study, which combines insights from the theory of knowledge transfer within the application domain of CSR and sustainability, and looks into the ways the above impact aspects of diversity, career identity and career development of professionals in this field.

Findings

HRM issues such as new competencies and differing approaches to career development options, talent retention and management, and a change of the notion of employment contract need to develop to successfully support the transfer of knowledge in terms of professionals in the domain of CSR and sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

Future directions and implications of this research include furthering the understanding of career identities and their development in the milieu of globally mobile knowledge workers in the field of CSR and sustainability knowledge transfer and identifying relevant and necessary tools for HR management and stakeholder engagement in this field.

Social implications

The establishment of career pathways and new career identities is an increasingly significant challenge in the workplaces of the twenty‐first century, and CSR/sustainability knowledge transfer processes highlight that.

Originality/value

The paper contributes an innovative angle to the topic of knowledge transfer in the area of CSR and sustainability, whilst also highlighting the importance of the role of knowledge workers with global mobility in this process, including their perceptions of career identities and development.

Knowledge sharing through virtual teams across borders and boundaries

This study focuses on a challenge faced by multinational corporations: how to enhance knowledge sharing across geographical and functional boundaries given the multifaceted nature of knowledge. The article demonstrates how a multinational company can create the means and spaces necessary to achieve effective knowledge sharing and learning by highlighting a viable information system that supports social networking. It also offers a virtual team structure that draws upon and strengthens employees’ social ties, which can boost organization-wide management of fine-grained knowledge. This combined approach mitigates the negative effects of physical and organizational distance on the availability of support and information. The present study contributes to organizational learning and knowledge-sharing discussions by shedding light on how virtual teams that function as knowledge activists can enhance internal knowledge sharing in globally dispersed organizations.

HR structure and HR knowledge transfer between subsidiaries in China

Purpose

This paper attempts to examine the issue concerning human resource (HR) structures and the transfer of HR knowledge to discover whether and how HR structure facilitates the transfer of HR knowledge between subsidiaries of an MNC in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The investigation, being of an exploratory nature, follows the tradition of a grounded approach. The paper is based on an empirical study of 22 individual HR professionals from 21 Chinese subsidiaries of MNCs. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews conducted between January and April 2004 and a grounded analysis was carried out with the assistance of Nvivo software.

Findings

The forms of HR structures, especially China centre‐led HR structures, have created an opportunity for developing HR learning networks for sharing HR knowledge amongst sister‐subsidiaries and between the subsidiary and the China centre. These forms of HR structure have also provided an essential foundation for wide collaboration between subsidiaries, and further for creating a knowledge‐sharing culture to facilitate HR knowledge transfer.

Research limitations/implications

The findings on HR structure and the transfer of HR knowledge have implications for understanding the organisational structure and inter‐subsidiary knowledge transfer.

Originality/value

There is little previous research on HR structure, the transfer of HR knowledge in China, and the link between them. This paper addresses this gap and seeks to contribute to the literature.