Knowledge transfer in Vietnam: starts, stops, and loops

Abstract

Purpose To offer a framework of structural and contextual influences on knowledge transfer of foreign management ideas to Vietnamese academic and managerial colleagues. It addresses four factors: stage of relationship between Vietnamese and foreign counterparts; participative competence (i.e. knowledge, experience, and motivations of those sending and receiving knowledge); atmosphere within each side's organization; and conduit conditions, or factors that facilitate transmittal or translation of knowledge. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on an ethnographic study from 1994‐2003 of the creation of Vietnam's first international standard business school, within the National Economics University (NEU), in Hanoi, which included participant observation, semi‐structured and informal interviews with over 60 Vietnamese faculty members, managers, university administrators, and foreign visiting professors and administrators, field notes, documentation, and archival records. Findings The paper concludes that long‐lasting knowledge transfer is not straightforward in its flow; must be bi‐directional for the primary transfer (i.e. of Western business knowledge) to succeed, and moves from primarily explicit to both explicit and more tacit knowledge transfer. Research limitations/implications The paper calls for additional research on perceptive competence, organizational atmosphere, conduit conditions, and turning points in relationships. Practical implications A toolkit for managers on key aspects to consider in knowledge transfer and exchange within developing countries and within multinational firms. Originality/value The paper expands existing models and adds new components regarding the relationship between parties, and the notion of bi‐directional interactions.

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