Knowledge Sharing and Sociality

2009 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Lauring ◽  
Toke Bjerregaard
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
International Development ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Organizational Setting ◽  
Language Differences ◽  
Corporate Strategies ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Cross Cultural Management

This chapter deals with the role of language use and knowledge sharing in the context of international subsidiaries. The chapter analyzes the role of language use for the control and sharing of knowledge in a multicultural organizational setting using findings from an ethnographic field study in a subsidiary. Whilst previous research has addressed how objective, static cultural differences impede communication and knowledge sharing, the perspective of the chapter is on the actual use of language in knowledge sharing. The empirical study thus shows how language use shapes the flow of knowledge in an international subsidiary. The findings describe the use of language differences for controlling knowledge flows and highlight how this affects the execution of long-term corporate strategies of international development. The chapter argues that the management of language use should not be viewed as an outpost of cross-cultural management but as an integral element of the effective management of international operations. This perspective is supported by research in other disciplines covering the use of language and the social dimensions of knowledge communication such as social anthropology.

Explicit Attitudes in Brazil Towards Varieties of Portuguese

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Talia Bugel
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Language Differences ◽  
Explicit Attitudes ◽  
First Choice ◽  
Policy And Planning ◽  
Teaching Situations

AbstractThe study of language attitudes is relevant to the study of language use in society, language policy and planning, and language acquisition and learning. The purpose of this paper is to increase our knowledge of attitudes of native speakers about Portuguese varieties and the role of extralinguistic factors conditioning them. Seventy-nine adult Brazilian Portuguese native speakers were surveyed on their perception of outstanding language differences within various Portuguese-speaking areas, their preferences for specific regional varieties of their language, and their opinion on which variety of Portuguese would be the best choice to teach schoolchildren in Brazil, foreigners visiting Brazil, and Uruguayans and Argentineans in their home countries - in the context of regional integration under Mercosul. Results show the highest percentages of preference favoring the neutral/general variety of Portuguese as the first choice for teaching situations, followed by the Brazilian variety. This contrasts with the information collected on the subjective preferences of the same participants, who reported having a preference for a specific national or regional variety of Portuguese in 78.5% of their answers.

scholarly journals Role of headquarter attention disparity on expatriate knowledge sharing between assignments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sachinie Wanasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Functional Identity ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
External Effects ◽  
Unequal Distribution

<p>In acknowledgement of ongoing challenges in knowledge sharing, continuous research efforts are required to reflect the ever-changing landscape. Current research does not entirely encapsulate recent conceptualisations of multidirectional knowledge flows within the MNC, specifically from a lateral perspective. Accordingly, the role of expatriates reflect the importance of lateral knowledge sharing yet research has not holistically addressed the complex nature of exploiting such knowledge. Extensive examination of the HQ-expatriate relationship and repatriation process highlights the limited recognition for expatriates still within the expatriation cycle (i.e. moving from subsidiary to subsidiary).  This thesis seeks to add to the existing literature by exploring a potential new antecedent, headquarter attention disparity. The attention-based view of the firm reflects subsidiary level outcomes of unequal distribution of HQ attention. Extending this to explore the role on expatriate knowledge sharing is novel. The research implements a hermeneutical research design using semi-structured interviews. These sought to discover expatriate conceptualisations of lateral knowledge sharing and the related perceptions of HQ attention disparities between subsidiaries. The study draws on the ability-motivation-opportunity framework within a knowledge sender-receiver context. Expatriates coming from high-HQ attention subsidiaries demonstrate their own understanding of the acquired knowledge, influenced by individual context. These same interpretations guide subsidiary willingness to learn and the nature of knowledge sharing interactions. The results illustrate these opinions of perceived benefits to impact the inclination for knowledge sharing. Where perceptions align, there is reduced uncertainty in the expatriate-subsidiary colleague relationship whereas diverging perceptions weaken the propensity to learn and expatriates’ knowledge sharing risks deterioration. These outcomes are further susceptible to external effects. The first being perceived competence-trust in shared functional identity, the second through affect-trust within subsidiary socialisation efforts.</p>

scholarly journals Role of headquarter attention disparity on expatriate knowledge sharing between assignments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sachinie Wanasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Functional Identity ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
External Effects ◽  
Unequal Distribution

<p>In acknowledgement of ongoing challenges in knowledge sharing, continuous research efforts are required to reflect the ever-changing landscape. Current research does not entirely encapsulate recent conceptualisations of multidirectional knowledge flows within the MNC, specifically from a lateral perspective. Accordingly, the role of expatriates reflect the importance of lateral knowledge sharing yet research has not holistically addressed the complex nature of exploiting such knowledge. Extensive examination of the HQ-expatriate relationship and repatriation process highlights the limited recognition for expatriates still within the expatriation cycle (i.e. moving from subsidiary to subsidiary).  This thesis seeks to add to the existing literature by exploring a potential new antecedent, headquarter attention disparity. The attention-based view of the firm reflects subsidiary level outcomes of unequal distribution of HQ attention. Extending this to explore the role on expatriate knowledge sharing is novel. The research implements a hermeneutical research design using semi-structured interviews. These sought to discover expatriate conceptualisations of lateral knowledge sharing and the related perceptions of HQ attention disparities between subsidiaries. The study draws on the ability-motivation-opportunity framework within a knowledge sender-receiver context. Expatriates coming from high-HQ attention subsidiaries demonstrate their own understanding of the acquired knowledge, influenced by individual context. These same interpretations guide subsidiary willingness to learn and the nature of knowledge sharing interactions. The results illustrate these opinions of perceived benefits to impact the inclination for knowledge sharing. Where perceptions align, there is reduced uncertainty in the expatriate-subsidiary colleague relationship whereas diverging perceptions weaken the propensity to learn and expatriates’ knowledge sharing risks deterioration. These outcomes are further susceptible to external effects. The first being perceived competence-trust in shared functional identity, the second through affect-trust within subsidiary socialisation efforts.</p>

Supply chain as an autopoietic learning system

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Breite ◽  
Kaj U. Koskinen
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Autopoietic System

Purpose – This paper seeks to present a comprehensive overview of the supply chain as an autopoietic system. The new autopoietic approach suggests a transition from traditional cognitivist epistemology to the theory of learning as a creational matter, and this type of thinking can potentially shed light on the role of knowledge creation as a part of supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is structured as follows: the first section describes the theoretical background of the concept of knowledge management in the supply chain. After that, the paper examines the general systems theory and the role of an autopoietic system within it. Then the paper addresses autopoietic epistemology. In particular, the notions of knowledge, learning, and knowledge flows are described so that the focus is on the context of the supply chain and supply chain management at operational level. Findings – The supplier's, customer's, and firm's own organization and parts of the organization have autonomy system memories, which ultimately formulate how the intended development ideas are in fact realized and how they are adopted by the organization. Supply chain managers should take into account the fact that the routines and norms of the node are part of the system that are not controlled from outside. Instead, the system can modify its objectives internally as part of its autonomous operation, which should be taken into consideration in the knowledge sharing process. Originality/value – The description of a supply chain as an autopoietic knowledge system is a new way to examine knowledge sharing in a supply chain.

The Applied-Ethical Structural Synthesis of International Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (197) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikos Astroulakis
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Free Market ◽  
National Level ◽  
Applied Ethics ◽  
Global Ethics ◽  
Structural Synthesis ◽  
Policy Theory ◽  
Development Institutions ◽  
Market Relations

<p>The paper challenges the mainstream stance in the study of applied ethics<br />in international development. Applied ethics is positioned at the macro-social level<br />of global ethics while a specific codification is attempted by formulating international development based on its structural synthesis, in a threefold level: First, the structural synthesis –associated with the framework of existing international development policy–can be found in the ‘market relations’. Second, the analysis specifies the policies applied at the national level and the role of nation-state policy. Third, the paper criticizes the international development institutions’ policies. In each of the levels mentioned above, the analysis reveals the fundamental policy theory issues of neoclassical economics, as the intellectual defender of free market economics.</p>

Language Use and Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges for Policy-Makers and Educators in Northeast Vietnamese Areas

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-130
Author(s):  
Ha Ngan Ngo ◽  
Maya Khemlani David
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Shift ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Status ◽  
Wedding Songs

Vietnam represents a country with 54 ethnic groups; however, the majority (88%) of the population are of Vietnamese heritage. Some of the other ethnic groups such as Tay, Thai, Muong, Hoa, Khmer, and Nung have a population of around 1 million each, while the Brau, Roman, and Odu consist only of a hundred people each. Living in northern Vietnam, close to the Chinese border (see Figure 1), the Tay people speak a language of the    Central    Tai language group called Though, T'o, Tai Tho, Ngan, Phen, Thu Lao, or Pa Di. Tay remains one of 10 ethnic languages used by 1 million speakers (Buoi, 2003). The Tày ethnic group has a rich culture of wedding songs, poems, dance, and music and celebrate various festivals. Wet rice cultivation, canal digging and grain threshing on wooden racks are part of the Tày traditions. Their villages situated near the foothills often bear the names of nearby mountains, rivers, or fields. This study discusses the status and role of the Tày language in Northeast Vietnam. It discusses factors, which have affected the habitual use of the Tay language, the connection between language shift and development and provides a model for the sustainability and promotion of minority languages. It remains fundamentally imperative to strengthen and to foster positive attitudes of the community towards the Tày language. Tày’s young people must be enlightened to the reality their Tày non-usage could render their mother tongue defunct, which means their history stands to be lost.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document