Questioning Western Knowledge Transfer Methodologies: Toward a Reciprocal and Intercultural Transfer of Knowledge

Abstract

The rapid development of western European knowledge‐based societies has a drastic effect on the development of eastern European societies. Special attention should be paid to the past three years of economic crisis, where a shift of existing economic paradigms has occurred. In order to navigate through these turbulent times, many companies, as an option to survive or expand, have formed cross‐border alliances and cooperations. Due to these cross‐border initiatives, the geographic movement of employees and, implicitly, the flow of intellectual capital, play an important role. Paradoxically, however, the process of knowledge transfer has been affected by several shortcomings, for example, the knowledge receiver's lack of absorptive capacity or cognitive learning, a knowledge applicability gap, or the rise of knowledge sharing barriers. The reason for this situation lies in the flawed knowledge transfer process. This approach is characterized by a unidirectional flow of knowledge from the West, reflecting an ethnocentric approach; inappropriate attitudes on behalf of the knowledge transmitter and the knowledge receiver; by knowledge not being culturally embedded, which leads to an alienation of knowledge; and, finally, to a lack of cultural awareness and preparedness on behalf of the westerners. This article applies a phenomenological approach. By using grounded theory, it contributes to a better understanding of the complexity of the problems and its implications on management from a multidisciplinary perspective. It provides solutions to improve the knowledge transfer process between eastern and western European cooperations based on an intercultural and reciprocal methodology and a new conducive learning environment. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Impact of Distance (External) and Organizational Factors (Internal) on the Knowledge Chain of Multinational Corporations: South Africa as a Host Country

“…There was a concern that sometimes staff at HQ dismissed the notion that real knowledge could come from South Africa, and this had to be fought against. The idea that meaningful knowledge could come from an emerging market was not always valued, and this confirms warnings by Bengoa and Kaufmann (), who question ethnocentric knowledge transfer methodologies. One respondent stated:

If I'm in North America, chances are that I might just brush through some of the information that's being shared with somebody from South Africa.

…”

“…Nine of the 12 respondents noted that for knowledge from HQ to be fully adopted in a local market, it needed to be relevant (Bengoa & Kaufmann, ), and thus there was a process of localization to knowledge arriving in South Africa from HQ. Although there was a strong knowledge push from HQ to the local subsidiaries, there was also a large flow of information from the local subsidiaries of both organizations to their HQ teams.…”

“…Seven respondents maintained that knowledge will not be utilized unless it is both localized and relevant (Bengoa & Kaufmann, , refer to this as knowledge alienation ). HQ was not always au fait with local needs and sometimes tried to push solutions that were not relevant to local circumstances.…”

“…As regards knowledge adoption, we find that relevance and localization is important. This underpins the need for embedding knowledge transfers within local contexts and recognizing the dynamic and interactive nature of knowledge transfers and learning (Bengoa & Kaufmann, ). Respondents warned against overzealousness, which can result in too much information flowing in all directions.…”

“…Reverse diffusion of knowledge has become an area of growing importance, especially for MNCs operating in multiple locations, which requires the ability to extract the benefits of being local and global simultaneously (Bengoa & Kaufmann, ; Brem & Wolfram, ; Govindarajan & Ramamurti, ; Hsu & Iriyama, ; Lee & McNamee, ; Peng, Qin, Chen, Cannice, & Yang, ; Prabakar, ; Van der Boor, Oliveira, & Veloso, ). Distance can be a significant constraint to the full production and exploitation of knowledge within an MNC.…”