Abstract
As the world becomes a globalised economic network, cross-country knowledge transfer is an emerging phenomenon. It happens not only through Multi-National Corporations (MNC) or joint ventures, but also in dispersed organizations or individuals. Knowledge transfer is a critical part of knowledge management and is a complex process that is affected by many factors. Research into knowledge sharing and transfer within an organisation (intra) and between organisations (inter) has produced useful insight into the process and the model of effective knowledge transfer, and the factors affecting such a process. Knowledge transfer across different countries – refers to transnational knowledge transfer (TKT) thereafter, has emerged as a new domain of knowledge management that attracted many researchers. However, the findings on TKT are disproportionate comparing to ample evidence on intra and inter organisational knowledge transfer. It is anticipated that TKT has its own unique features and cannot be simply classified as one of the commonly accepted knowledge transfer categorizations. Therefore, specific attention should be paid to examine knowledge transfer in a cross-country context.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Knowledge Transfer: A process by which knowledge, ideas and experience move from the source of knowledge to the recipient of that knowledge. Knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing are used interchangeably in many literatures.
Delphi Survey of Experts: The Delphi survey is a group facilitation technique that seeks to obtain consensus on the opinions of experts through a series of surveys using questionnaires.
Transnational Knowledge Transfer (TKT): Knowledge is transferred in a cross-country context at either individual or organizational level.
Intra-Organizational Knowledge Transfer: Knowledge is transferred among different units within an organization.
Knowledge Transfer Success: The degree to which a recipient obtains ownership of, commitment to, and satisfaction with the transferred knowledge.
Inter-Organizational Knowledge Transfer: Knowledge is transferred from one organization to another, such as business partners, suppliers, customers, etc.
Knowledge Transfer Levels: Knowledge transfer can happen at individual, intra-organizational, inter-organizational or transnational levels.