This qualitative study investigates different perceptions of knowledge sharing in a cross-cultural research collaboration between German and Chinese scientists. Special emphasis is placed on the in-group and out-group orientation of partners, different communication styles and personal and organizational influence factors. Data was obtained by conducting six focus groups in Germany and China. All ideas expressed in these focus groups were categorized and thoroughly evaluated. Our analysis reveals that the in- and out-group orientation of collectivistic and individualistic cultures might not be as pronounced as theory would suggest. In fact, members of the more collectivistic Chinese culture even showed a higher out-group orientation than members of the more individualistic German culture in our study. The resulting theoretical and practical implications for managing cross-cultural collaboration projects are discussed in detail in the paper.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate knowledge sharing of Chinese and German scientists collaborating in a cross‐cultural nanotechnology R&D project. Particularly, the authors analyze cultural differences that might indirectly influence the scientists' intention to share knowledge.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative data were gathered from professors and PhDs working in academic Chinese‐German nanotechnology collaboration regarding influencing factors of their intention to share knowledge like subjective norms, anticipated extrinsic rewards and image. Moderated regression analysis was used to identify how nationality influences the relationships between independent variables and the intention to share knowledge.FindingsThe findings show that the analyzed variables generally constitute important influencing factors of the intention to share knowledge. However, moderation analysis suggests that the proposed differences between the Eastern and Western cultures do not significantly affect influencing factors of the intention to share knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus of this study is on an academic environment, limiting the generalizability of the results. It promises to be a worthwhile endeavor to investigate possible influencing factors and effects of organizational culture in cross‐cultural collaboration projects more thoroughly in the future, further deepening our understanding of knowledge sharing in collaborative R&D projects.Practical implicationsCultural differences between Chinese and German researchers might have diminished over the past decades. Both in China and Germany, academic scientists can be expected to largely share the same values, beliefs, assumptions and expectations with regard to their work.Originality/valueThe study at hand is the first analysis of an academic Chinese‐German nanotechnology collaboration.