Knowledge transfer & network dynamics in international

organizations: the case of Swedish organizations in

Singapore[GCGD Theme 2 - The International Organization of Production / Theme 3 - Global Social

Relations]

by Cheryl M. Cordeiro-NilssonPhD, MSc, MA

I

My BackgroundSingapore &

Sweden

Globalized Singapore

• Young nation state gained independence in 1965• No natural resources• Singapore is part Asia’s NIEs that includes Hong Kong, South

Korea, Taiwan. • FDI stocks as a percentage of GDP remained almost constant at

159.3% in 2005 and 159% in 2006.• Of the 141 countries studied, Singapore is ranked as the 2nd country

in the world with the strongest potential attractiveness for FDI (World Investment Report 2006 of the UNCTAD).

Globalized Sweden

• From 1990 - 2007 foreign owned companies in Sweden increased from 2,563 to 11,944 (ITPS, 2008).

• From 1990 to 2007, the number of employees in foreign owned companies in Sweden increased from 9% to 24% (ITPS, 2008).

• 190 (ca. 15% of all international) Swedish companies are present in Singapore (Exportrådet 2008).

Swedish companies abroad

• In 2006, 1,268 Swedish companies and their subsidiaries had 1.5 million employees.

• Two thirds of these were abroad. These companies represent 40% of Swedish export.

• The largest percentage increase was in China.

II. Previous Research

• 2001 (MSc) National Information Infrastructure and the Realization of Singapore IT2000 Initiative. Division of Information Studies, Nanyang Technological University of Singapore (NTU).

• 2009 (PhD) Swedish management in Singapore: a discourse analysis study. Department of Philosophy, Linguistics, and Theory of Science, University of Gothenburg (GU).

CDA

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)

An interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse.

Views language as a social practice and focuses on the

ways social and political domination are reflected by text

and talk.

SFL

Systemic functional linguistics (SFL)

A model of grammar developed by Michael Halliday in the 1960s.

The approach is concerned with the contextualized, practical uses to

which language is put, as opposed to formal grammar, which focuses

on compositional semantics, syntax and word classes such as

nouns and verbs.

Sociology Conversation Analysis

Sociolinguistics Ethnography

Interactional sociolinguistics

Variation theory

Philosophy Speech Act Theory

Pragmatics

Linguistics Structural-functional

Social-semiotic

Systemic functionallinguistics

Birmingham School

Critical discourseanalysis

Theoretical background of CDA and SFL

(Eggins and Slade, 1997:24)

CDA from the perspective of M. A. K. Halliday’s SFL

• CDA has wide applicability and interests from literary critics, critical theorists, communication technologiests, geographers, philosophers, political scientists, sociologists and even those in artificial intelligence / engineers.

• SFL views language as a means to an end, not as an end in itself (Halliday, 2004).

• SFL is instrumental linguistics i.e. the study of language for understanding something else (Fowler, 1991).

PhD thesis method of analysis • Create a corpus (long, semi-structured

interviews).• Transcribe the interviews (Göteborg

Transcription Standard, Nivre et al 2004).• Manage data (Strauss and Corbin’s grounded

theory coding procedures, 1998).• Gather corpus based prominent themes;

specific texts pertaining to themes selected for linguistic analysis.

• Apply CDA via SFL as a framework to the text example (i.e. in-depth, specific respondents’ point of view)

• Concordance software, for a cross-section analysis, profiling concepts across the entire corpus (i.e. all respondents’ point of view).

Focus Findings

• Hierarchy - related to the respondents’ intrinsic understanding of organization structure. Both groups had a very different view of organization hierarchy.

• Assimilation / Integration - related to how well the Swedes and Singaporeans worked together and if there was ultimately a 3rd style of management, a ‘Scandinasian’ style of management that emerged. But no, there wasn’t a merged style of management, rather a constant contestation of power.

Hierarchy Related Topics

1. Information sharing / dissemination:

“Power is often knowledge information and if you were afraid to lose your power, then

you want to do everything you can to keep it, including knowledge. Don't share

knowledge because he could be the one ‘killing’ you to take over, so keep knowledge here, only give small pieces of information

down to everybody else, safer for me.” ~ Maj-Liss Olsson, GM of Svenska Handelsbanken in

Singapore

Hierarchy Related Topics

2. Knowledge management 3. Expertise consulting4. Decision-making processes5. (Tacit) Knowledge transfer 6. Knowledge production and creation7. Networking dynamics

Assimilation / Integration Related Topics

1. Information sharing 2. Local cultural and language

barriers 3. Local business protocols 4. Tacit knowledge 5. Knowledge transfer and learning6. Knowledge production and creation7. Networking dynamics

These related topics are the focus of the proposed

study.

III

The relevancy of this field

to business and academic research.

1. Tacit Knowledge Importance

“Our paint workshops all over the world are the same, the processes are the same, the procedures are the same, but the results come out different.” ~ Stephen Odell, CEO of Volvo Cars

2. Social Network Dynamics

“I built up our company the first 10 to 15 years … today I let my local staff handle all our customer contacts…

They do it much better than I do it.”

~ Bo Johansson, Director of Viking Engineering in Singapore

3. Current Studies

“…the more easily codifiable (tradable) knowledge can be

accessed, the more crucial does tacit knowledge become for sustaining or enhancing the competitive position of the

firm….”

~ Maskell and Malmberg (1999:172)

In new economic geography, knowledge management and international business…

• Interest in the concept of tacit knowledge and social network dynamics has grown steadily in recent decades (Gertler, 2003).

• How is it produced? Is this related to mobility and the affinity of people?

• How do organizations harvest and utilize tacit knowledge?

• How is it reproduced and shared? Is this related to absorptive capacity of the environment and the organization?

IV

The relevancy of proposed study to

GCGD’s themes #2 (and #3).

Knowledge transfer & network dynamics in international

organizations: the case of Swedish

organizations in Singapore

Theme 2International Organization of

Production

“…knowledge and network dynamics…changes in the global

economic environment create new preconditions for successful internationalization of firms”

Theme 3Global Social Relations

“What is the basis upon which people form new communities,

organization and political movements?”

Tx and network dynamics

V

Proposed Study

Diagram 1 Area of studyTA = Tacit knowledge from Culture ATB = Tacit knowledge from Culture BE = Explicit knowledge (codified knowledge, patents, manuals etc.)TX = Area of investigation shown in Diagram 2. New knowledge created, by transfer of knowledge?

Diagram 2Problem statement in diagram and area of investigation

for this study

Parent Organization Subsidiary OrganizationOvercoming barriers in host country

Studying theprocessof transnational K transfer

Formulating models How language &

cultural barriers affectsMethod of Study: organization networking

Data collectionFocus groupsLong interviews

Method of analysisGrounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998)Discourse analysis (Eggins, 2004; Halliday, 1994)

Knowledge (K),Tacit knowledge

Language &Cultural barriers

KnowledgeManagement model

Network dynamicsmodel

Research Questions…

• How is tacit knowledge transferred? • What kinds of tacit knowledge are

transferred? Are there barriers affecting the transfer

process? How are such barriers overcome in the

knowledge transfer process? What new knowledge results from a

successful sharing of tacit knowledge?

Research Questions…

• Are there identifiable barriers to the social network dynamics of an organization?

• How does networking contribute to or affect the transfer of knowledge for the organizations?

• How can organizations leverage on their social network dynamics?

VI. Possible applications of the findings…

• As a comparative study• As an aid for FDI decisions • As an aid for governmental national policies • HR selection of staff and training• Basis for training programs / education

Thank You!

Email: cheryl@cherylmariecordeiro.comWebsite: http://www.cmariec.com