Knowledge management: raising the spectre of the cross-cultural dimension

✍ Scribed by Nigel Holden

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 95 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1092-4604
• DOI: 10.1002/kpm.117

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Practitioners and theorists of knowledge management are increasingly aware of the practice as an international activity, but the topic is seldom presented in its cross‐cultural dimensions. This paper argues that knowledge management in the global economy is a form of cross‐cultural management, but points out that the literature is vague on how to handle culture in its wider international manifestations. Among other things it is suggested that the division of knowledge into tacit and explicit may have limited applicability when knowledge is to be leveraged cross‐culturally. Researchers are cautioned about making use of still pervasive concepts of culture which are out of keeping with the workings of the knowledge economy. It is concluded that the key task of knowledge management is to foster and continually sophisticate collaborative cross‐cultural learning. But the point to bear in mind is that the essence of the cross‐cultural challenge is not about what to learn from each other, but how to learn. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.