The Influence of Trust on the Trilogy of Knowledge Creation, Sharing, and Transfer

Abstract

This empirical article focuses on the phenomenon of trust and its infl uence on the trilogy of the following interrelated factors that are crucial to the success of international business cooperations and their economic results: knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and knowledge transfer. Trust is expected and desired by many business partners, but it is also abused by others. The term trust, due to its intangible and invisible nature, is often ignored or superfi cially treated by companies. However, when trust does not exist between international cooperation partners or is not nurtured, negative relationships and fi nancial implications occur. These lacunae could be explained due to the difficulty in quantifying as a fi nancial asset. The article presents qualitative fi ndings (from two empirical research studies): (1) the implications of trust development for knowledge transfer between Russian-and German-speaking companies, and (2) the infl uence of trust on knowledge sharing in the completion of an Austrian construction project. The authors applied phenomenological interviewing and observations of critical incidents or signifi cant occurrences, combined with comparative content analysis. The positive infl uence of trust on the aforementioned trilogy results in higher levels of the involved companies' innovativeness, culminating in higher levels of competitive advantage and profi tability. The empirical fi ndings are presented to explain the infl uence of trust on knowledge creation, sharing, and transfer, which have a bearing on intercultural cooperations. One innovative fi nding relates to the differentiated perception of emotions and the implications that this entails.

The Impact of Distance (External) and Organizational Factors (Internal) on the Knowledge Chain of Multinational Corporations: South Africa as a Host Country

“…But ba emphasizes that trust among organizational members evolves both as an output and a moderating factor in that process (Von Krogh et al, ). Our model illustrates the importance of trust to facilitate cooperation and interaction (confirming the work of Bengoa and Kaufmann, ). For example, the use of expatriates demonstrates both dimensions, as does localization.…”

“…But respondents made it clear that the technology works best with the transfers of explicit knowledge, and although the transfer of tacit knowledge is also aided by these communication technologies (Nonaka et al, ; Nonaka & Von Krogh, ), it is less effective and individuals in roles requiring the transfer of tacit knowledge are often required to travel more to fulfill their functions. Tacit knowledge therefore relies more on the trust dimension, which requires more direct interpersonal contact and a receptiveness to intercultural learning (Bengoa & Kaufmann, ).…”

Do Chinese corporations take their governance practices abroad? Evidence from Chinese mining subsidiaries in Australia

“…However, whether boards of directors offer advice to the CEO can depend on their expertise and experience. Moreover, shared values, linguistic skills, and social ties between the CEO and the board of directors can facilitate such knowledge transfers and service provision (Bengoa & Kaufmann, ; Peltokorpi & Vaara, ; Welch & Welch, ), as directors may feel more comfortable in providing advice to the CEO (Westphal, ).…”

Knowledge transfer in collaborations between foreign and indigenous firms in the Nigerian oil industry: The role of partners' motivational characteristics

“…The literature on interfirm knowledge transfer has identified a number of different sets of factors that determine knowledge transfer (Easterby‐Smith et al, ). These include: the nature and characteristics of knowledge itself (Inkpen, ; Simonin, ; Zander & Kogut, ); the characteristics of knowledge source and knowledge recipient (Hamel, ; Lane & Lubatkin, ; Lawson & Potter, ; Pérez‐Nordtvedt et al, ; Szulanski, ); and the nature and characteristics of the relations between the source and the recipient (Bengoa & Kaufmann, ; Hansen, ). However, for the scope of this article, this literature review is focused on the characteristics of knowledge source and knowledge recipient, which can be categorized into motivational and cognitive factors.…”

“…A total of 27 interviews were conducted in all the partner companies, comprising three representatives (a top manager, a middle manager, and an employee) in each of the local partner firms and three representatives (an alliance manager and two other employees) in each of the foreign partner firms. Twenty‐seven informants are above the number needed to reach theoretical saturation (see Bengoa & Kaufmann, ). The interview sessions lasted in the average of between 60 and 90 min and were recorded with a voice recorder.…”