Knowledge sharing in intercultural team work : what factors can influence knowledge sharing process in intercultural team work? the case of Finnish and Vietnamese team

Abstract

The transition from an industrial to a post industrial knowledge economy provides and increases in the proportion of jobs that are knowledge intensive. There are statistical analyses typically show that managerial and professional work regarding to knowledge intensive becoming one of the fastest growing occupational groups since the 1980s. Elias and Gregory; Fleming et al. (1994, cited in Hislop 2013:7). Knowledge management, therefore is a contemporary field which provides many interesting aspects as well as potential for intellectual development of academic researchers and knowledge workers. Knowledge is one of the most valuable assets for many organizations. The challenges of how to keep this asset being transferred and shared among all employees to achieve better performance is increased. For this reason, communicating and organizing knowledge is highly essential not only for top managers but also among employees in organizations . It is even more significant in international organizations where the employees own multinational backgrounds. Cross cultural or intercultural factors therefore have a huge impact in knowledge communication. In order to help facilitate the transfer of knowledge within the intercultural context, a lot of research is being conducted. The recognition of the difficulties inherent in transferring knowledge from one person to another is hightlighted in different writings of Polanyi( 1996), Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). This study focuses the sharing of knowledge in academic teamwork, in which members having different cultural backgournds. In consideration that knowledge –especially tacit knowledge is hardly shared and most valueable asset. In this study, the influence of cultural obstacles and barriers towards knowledge sharing are investigated. Additionally, the general knowledge management and culture concepts are both analysed, in order to support the study question. The study main research question is as following: What factors can influence knowledge sharing process in multicultural team work – The case of Finnish and Vietnamese teamwork