Trust and Knowledge transfer in a multicultural society: The role of social network diversity
RIS ID
76730
Abstract
It is arguably that the degree to which the import of foreign knowledge results in local development capacity is a function of public and private incentives for two activities: first, the transfer of knowledge from foreign participants to local workers and firms and, second, the absorption of this knowledge by those local workers and firms. As UAE used their oil wealth to acquire state-of-the-art business models, industrial knowledge and technologic capability, what happens to this global human capital once it is imported? By studying the circulation of knowledge, embodied by foreign workers and firms, and the challenges facing such process, this research seeks to address this lacuna by extending the literature on the relationship between social trust and knowledge sharing, along with the impact of diverse social interactions and cultural metacognition. Firmly grounded in research on trust and cooperative behaviors, the theory proposes that individuals' awareness of their own and others' cultural assumptions (cultural metacognition), and diversity of one's social network enables them to develop social trust in their relationships with people from different cultures, enabling effect knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Publication Details
Huang, V. & Shen, K. 2013, 'Trust and Knowledge transfer in a multicultural society: The role of social network diversity', Annual Meeting of Academy of International Business,