Lost in Transfer? Exploring the Influence of Culture on the Transfer of Knowledge Categories

IF 1.2 Q4 MANAGEMENT

Africa Journal of Management Pub Date : 2020-10-01 DOI:10.1080/23322373.2020.1830696

Obinna Alo

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引用次数: 8

Abstract

ABSTRACT Supported by an extensive review of four-domains of literature (knowledge management, organizational learning, culture, and retail), this study examines the influence of national culture on transfer of knowledge categories in top supermarkets in Africa and the United Kingdom (UK). Data from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 40 store managers (SMs) were used to examine how the SMs transfer the five sales performance drivers – selling-related knowledge, the degree-of-adaptiveness, role-clarity, cognitive-aptitude, and work-engagement – to their subordinates. The study finds these UK supermarkets’ knowledge transfer (KT) practices as embedded in problem-based learning (PBL) and project-based learning. SMs from African supermarkets exploit various opportunities to build interpersonal relationships and trust with knowledge-holders, thereby facilitating learning and KT. This study links such behaviors to “Ubuntu” – a well-established African philosophy/ethic. The study finds socialization, externalization, and internalization as common knowledge assets in African supermarkets, in contrast to socialization and externalization in their UK counterparts. This study found that, despite these variations in their strategic priorities regarding knowledge assets, these five sales performance drivers are transferred successfully in supermarkets in both continents that participated in the research. This offers a new insight that challenges the extant theorizing that KT praxis varies among diverse cultures.

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转账丢失？论文化对知识范畴转移的影响

摘要在对四个文献领域（知识管理、组织学习、文化和零售）进行广泛综述的基础上，本研究考察了民族文化对非洲和英国顶级超市知识类别转移的影响。使用对40名商店经理（SM）进行深入半结构化访谈的数据，研究SM如何将五个销售绩效驱动因素——销售相关知识、适应程度、角色清晰性、认知能力和工作敬业度——传递给下属。研究发现，这些英国超市的知识转移（KT）实践嵌入了基于问题的学习（PBL）和基于项目的学习中。来自非洲超市的SM利用各种机会与知识持有者建立人际关系和信任，从而促进学习和KT。这项研究将这种行为与“Ubuntu”——一种公认的非洲哲学/伦理联系起来。该研究发现，与英国超市的社会化和外部化相比，非洲超市的社交化、外部化和内部化是共同的知识资产。这项研究发现，尽管他们在知识资产方面的战略重点存在这些差异，但这五个销售业绩驱动因素在参与研究的两大洲的超市中都得到了成功的转移。这提供了一个新的见解，挑战了现存的理论，即KT实践在不同的文化中是不同的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Africa Journal of Management Business, Management and Accounting-Business and International Management

CiteScore

2.80

自引率

15.40%

发文量

期刊介绍： The beginning of the Twenty First Century has witnessed Africa’s rise and progress as one of the fastest growing and most promising regions of the world. At the same time, serious challenges remain. To sustain and speed up momentum, avoid reversal, and deal effectively with emerging challenges and opportunities, Africa needs better management scholarship, education and practice. The purpose of the Africa Journal of Management (AJOM) is to advance management theory, research, education, practice and service in Africa by promoting the production and dissemination of high quality and relevant manuscripts. AJOM is committed to publishing original, rigorous, scholarly empirical and theoretical research papers, which demonstrate clear understanding of the management literature and draw on Africa’s local indigenous knowledge, wisdom and current realities. As the first scholarly journal of the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM), AJOM gives voice to all those who are committed to advancing management scholarship, education and practice in or about Africa, for the benefit of all of Africa. AJOM welcomes manuscripts that develop, test, replicate or validate management theories, tools and methods with Africa as the starting point. The journal is open to a wide range of quality, evidence-based methodological approaches and methods that “link” “Western” management theories with Africa’s indigenous knowledge systems, methods and practice. We are particularly interested in manuscripts which address Africa’s most important development needs, challenges and opportunities as well as the big management questions of the day. We are interested in research papers which address issues of ethical conduct in different African settings.