Page 201 - Crossing Cultural Boundaries - Cees den Teuling

in order to provide ensured sustainable value creation for our clients?”, four research questions with sub-questions were formulated in Chapter Three. Information was collected through online surveys, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews from two partly different groups of beneficiaries of trans-boundary knowledge transfer, using the “Action Research” approach.
By linking the key themes of the third-party reports to the results of the conducted field research in Russia supportive ideas were found for the key theme.
(i) Support to SME’s. Similar to the research respondents the participants of the PUM and GIZ Programmes, articulated, in an overwhelming majority, the beneficial effects of the mentioned programmes, delivered by the consultants and advisors, specialised in and dedicated to the peculiarities of SME organisations.
(ii) As evidenced by the field research, and measured by the level of improvement in the practitioners’ business operations and effective management styles in production and the delivery of services, a contribution to business development is established.
(iii) Management training. The majority of the involved respondents, participants and interviewees put a high level of satisfaction on the acquired training of management skills. The Presidential Programme, PUM-NMCP and the GIZ programmes support the participating managers with operational training in theory and the skills, necessary for organisation’s management on the European level.
(iv) Nearly all participants in the field research, involved in the organised foreign traineeship programmes, declared their satisfaction with the learning and operational opportunities, gained through their stay as a trainee in a foreign organisation. A number of them expressed their gratitude to the host-organisations and presented examples of newly acquired knowledge and practices, ready to be implemented in their home organisations. Participants gained personally from their inclusion in the Trainees program.
(v) The number of established business contacts after returning to the home- organisation was rather limited. In approximately 50% of those completed traineeships established a form of a type of business contact (import/export, joint project and/or distribution agreement). No substantial interest was found for the collaboration in joint ventures, production on a license-agreement and joint manufacture operations.
To conclude, overall a certain level of satisfaction with the participants, the home and host organisations. However, the short-term results seem to be rather limited in direct revenue. In the longer term, if a part of the participants reach the more senior
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