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Knowledge Sharing Across National Cultural Boundaries and Multinational Corporations

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The Palgrave Handbook of Knowledge Management

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe and discuss processes of knowledge sharing between and within multinational corporation (MNC) business units. While knowledge and knowledge sharing have become increasingly important in all business sectors, this is particularly true for MNCs. A main reason for that is the diversity and dispersion of the MNC: MNCs employ individuals located in different regions with different types of skills and useful knowledge. The sharing of ideas and perspectives can thus be highly valuable in order to create a competitive edge. However, the diverse and dispersed organization of MNCs also creates many challenges for effective knowledge sharing. Therefore, MNCs need to deal with the paradoxical relationship between these two aspects. Based on empirical research in two Danish MNCs, we examine the link between barriers preventing knowledge sharing and the social and sociotechnical factors influencing interaction between and within business units.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Jakob Lauring

  2. School of Management and Business, King’s College London, London, UK

    Ling Eleanor Zhang

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

    Jawad Syed

  2. School of Management and Enterprise, Faculty of Business, Education, Law and the Arts, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

    Peter A. Murray

  3. School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom

    Donald Hislop

  4. Muscat University, St Helens, Merseyside, United Kingdom

    Yusra Mouzughi

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Lauring, J., Zhang, L.E. (2018). Knowledge Sharing Across National Cultural Boundaries and Multinational Corporations. In: Syed, J., Murray, P., Hislop, D., Mouzughi, Y. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Knowledge Management. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71434-9_16

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