Page 36 - Crossing Cultural Boundaries - Cees den Teuling

and disciplines involved in and influencing the trans-boundary KT process. A series of connected and facilitating variables are influencing, with more or less strength, the trans-boundary transfer of knowledge between transmitters and receivers in the process of exchange.
The influence of National Culture
There is no doubt that the organisational practices and processes are greatly influenced by NC. Organisations are constrained by (or mirror) the NC of the country where they are located. NC has been seen as one of the most influential contingent (situational) factors, which determine organisational phenomena as well as KT. The underlying idea of this research is that the transboundary KT is affected by the chain of factors each of which, in its turn, is influenced by the NC’s of both the entrepreneur /manager and the consultant. Therefore, it is important to investigate how differences in cultures affect the bi-directional process and the results of the cross-border KT for each of the beneficiaries.
The influence of Organisational Culture
There is no deficit or shortage of scientific and scholarly contributions on OC. A variety of authors, from traditional anthropologists to contemporary scientific oriented researchers have been searching for measurement and validation. Many researchers describe OC as a key factor in managing KT (Bhagat, Kedia, Harveston & Triandis, 2002; Holden, 2001; Moffett, Mc Adam & Parkinson, 2003; Glisby & Holden, 2003; Holden & von Kortzfleisch, 2004). Weissenberger-Eibl (2005) recognises four direct influential design parameters of KM: human resources, methodological approaches, technology, and organisation. However, the available literature provides only limited answers to the question of how the OC affects the KT and how possible approaches are suited to the problems associated with bridging cultural boundaries while transferring knowledge. Different authors described the same situations and reality in various, sometimes conflicting terms and approaches depending on their subjective views on the world and sometimes misguided by inadequate research methods. The literature review presented and analysed in this chapter will contribute to a better and in-depth understanding of the trans-boundary inter-organisational transfer of management knowledge and skills between actors from different OCs.
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