Knowledge sharing behaviour in cross-border interpersonal relationships

Abstract

In an organisation with a positive social interaction culture, both management and employees interact with eachother on a daily-basis in the work place, in official meetings, through e-mails or intranet, in project work group, or even during breaks, accidental encounterings. These kinds of behaviours result in natural knowledge sharing, even if the transfer process is not intentional, and employees who are more knowledgeable become knowledge sources.

Cross-border knowledge sharing between individuals is not only a function of their culture, but it also depends on the personal traits of the interaction partners and the relationship they develop. Effective and high-quality communication is essential for knowledge to be successfully shared, but this will depend on the level of trust that the individuals have in eachother, the shared codes and mutual understanding and common cognitive ground.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate what factors influence the effectiveness of knowledge sharing in interpersonal relationships across borders. The research is based on a qualitative study in which interviews were used as a means of data collection. Eleven interviews were performed on Romanian nationals interacting with people from another country on a regular basis.

The results of the study show that the quality of the interpersonal relationships and the cultural distance between the interaction partners, as well as the interaction context, influence the effectiveness of knowledge sharing at interpersonal level. Moreover, an interesting finding of the research was the interplay between culture and social capital.