Crossing cultural boundaries: knowledge sharing in intercultural business networks

Strategic business nets are increasingly important in producing economic value in the global arena. This paper examines the influence of national culture on knowledge sharing in different types of intercultural business nets. Knowledge sharing is essential for the functioning of any business network as it influences the interaction between the actors and the outcomes they can achieve. Cultural factors have for long been known to influence the communication and success potential of strategic alliances. Similarly, culture is seen to shape how actors behave in business relationships and networks involving people from several national cultures. Our basic assumption is that the nature of the cultures involved in the network and the type of network both influence the knowledge sharing barriers. This issue is studied through two conceptual frameworks. First, a framework identifying different types of strategic nets and the requirements they impose for knowledge sharing is proposed. Then a classification scheme of culture, based on the individualism-collectivism and the vertical-horizontal dimensions, is derived. The strategic-net and cultural types are then combined in an intercultural business-net framework, and the opportunities and barriers of knowledge sharing are analysed by using examples representing Asian-European and Asian-North America INTRODUCTION Strategic, purposefully developed business nets are becoming increasingly important in competing and producing economic value in the global arena. This conceptual paper examines the influence of culture on knowledge sharing in different types of intercultural strategic business nets. Why focus on knowledge sharing? We contend that it is essential for the functioning of any business network as it influences the interaction between the network actors and the outcomes they are able to achieve. Without the capacity for sharing knowledge, no business network can utilize the specialized resources and capabilities of its members, nor can it co-produce new knowledge. Thus, knowledge sharing is a critical factor in terms of its relative competitiveness (Almeida et al., 1998, Bhagat et al., 2002, Håkansson 1993, Larsson et al., 1998).