Knowledge Management

Queen’s KBE Centre for Knowledge-Based Enterprises 1
WORKING PAPER
WP 02-09
KNOWLEDGE SHARING IN A CROSS-CULTURAL
SETTING: A CASE STUDY
Dianne Ford
Dr. Yolande Chan
Queen’s University at Kingston
April 2002
Queen’s KBE Centre for Knowledge-Based Enterprises 2
Knowledge Sharing in a Cross-Cultural Setting: A Case Study
Dianne P. Ford
Yolande E. Chan1
Queen’s School of Business
Queen’s University e-mail: [e-mail]
Authors’ Vitae
Dianne P. Ford received her B.A. Honours in Psychology (with a focus on developmental and social psychology) and her M.B.A. (with a focus on international business and organizational behaviour) from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. She is currently a Ph.D. student in Management Information Systems and Organizational Behaviour at
Queen’s School of Business, Queen’s University, Canada. Her research interests are in knowledge management, cross-cultural issues, organizational culture and leadership, trust, and adoption of technology.
Yolande E. Chan is an Associate Professor of Management Information Systems at
Queen’s School of Business, Queen 's University, Canada. She holds a Ph.D. from the
University of Western Ontario in Canada, an M.Phil. in Management Studies from
Oxford University in England, and S.M. and S.B. degrees in Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US. Prior to joining Queen 's, Dr. Chan worked with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in
Toronto, Canada as an information systems consultant.
Dr. Chan conducts research on knowledge management and on information technology strategy, alignment and performance. She has published her findings in journals such as
Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly Executive, Journal of Strategic
Information Systems, Information & Management, and The Academy of Management
Executive.
1 The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions made to this manuscript by editorial

References: Alavi, M. & Leidner, D. (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues Benbasat, I., Goldstein, D. and Mead, M. (1987). “The Case Research Strategy in Studies of Information Systems,” MIS Quarterly, 11(3), 368-386. Buckley, P. & Carter, M. (1999). Managing cross-border complementary knowledge. CNW (March 14, 2001). A new study released by Ipsos-Reid and Microsoft Canada Co., MISSISSAUGA, ON. Connelly, C. & Kelloway, K. (2001). Predictors of knowledge sharing in organizations. Davenport, T. & Prusak, L. (1998). Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know Drucker, P. (1969). The Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our Changing Society. New York, Harper & Row. Drucker, P. (2001). The next society: A survey of the near future. The Economist, November 3, 2001, p Everest, K. (2001). Knowledge Management: A View from the Field. 2001-2002 KBE Speaker Series, October 5, 2001, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON. Ford, D.P., Connelly, C.E. & Meister, D.B. (2002). IS Research and Hofstede’s Culture’s Consequences: An Uneasy and Incomplete Partnership University School of Business, January, 2002. Gold, A., Malhotra, A. & Segars, A. (2001). Knowledge management: An organizational capabilities perspective Harris, R.B. (2001). The knowledge-based economy: Intellectual origins and new economic perspectives Hodgetts, R. (1993). A conversation with Geert Hofstede. Organizational Dynamics, 21, 53-62. Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, London. Hofstede, G. (1994). Values Survey Module Manual. IRIC: Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands. Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations Hofstede, G. & Bond, M. (1988). Confucius and economic growth: New trends in culture’s consequences Matusik, S. & Hill, C. (1998). The utilization of contingent work, knowledge creation, and competitive advantage McDermott, R. (2000).Knowing in community: 10 critical success factors in building communities of practice McKeen, J. & Smith, H. (1998). Knowledge management: The role of I/S. IT Management Forum, 8(4), Queen’s University at Kingston, 1-12. Myers, M. & Tan, F. (2002). Beyond models of national culture in information systems research Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14-37. Pfeffer, J. & Sutton, R. (2000). The Knowledge-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action Simonin, B. (1999). Transfer of marketing know-how in international strategic alliances: An empirical investigation of the role and antecedents of knowledge ambiguity. Straub, D., Loch, K., Evaristo, R.,, Karahanna, E. & Strite, M. (2002). Toward a theorybased measurement of culture Triandis, H.C. (1996). The psychological measurement of cultural syndromes. American Psychologist, 51, 407-415. Wenger, E.C. & Snyder, W.M. (2000). Communities of practice: The organizational frontier Yin, Robert K. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (Second Edition).