Factors influencing knowledge transfer and the mediating effect of shared vision involving expatriates and host country nationals in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

Many past studies on knowledge transfer which focused on factors such as the behaviour of knowledge senders and organizational practice; however, they are limited in terms of considering individual factors such as cultural intelligence (CQ) and feedback-seeking behaviour (FSB) as well as shared vision as a mediator. In addition, there was a strong need for a study on bi-directional knowledge transfer involving both expatriates and host country nationals (HCNs) as most of the studies were conducted uni-directionally. Therefore, the objective of this study is to find out relationships between CQ as well as FSB and knowledge transfer with shared vision as mediating variable from expatriate-HCN pairs, and also their perspective on predictors of knowledge transfer involving expatriates and HCNs. Data were gathered from 104 expatriate-HCN pairs who work in various organizations such as multinational corporations and private companies in Malaysia by using self-administered questionnaire. The results show that most of the expatriate and HCN respondents experience moderate level of knowledge transfer from their respective expatriate/HCN partners. However, both expatriates and HCNs have high level of shared vision, CQ as well as FSB. It was found that there is a significant difference in the level of CQ involving expatriates and HCNs. This study also revealed that there are significant positive relationships between CQ, FSB and shared vision on knowledge transfer. Meanwhile, the regression results show that shared vision significantly influences knowledge transfer involving expatriates and HCNs. Also, shared vision was found to significantly mediate the relationships between CQ and FSB with knowledge transfer involving expatriates and HCNs. This study concluded that both expatriates and HCNs are the source and receiver of knowledge. This study expands the literature on the role of CQ, FSB and shared vision as a mediating variable in knowledge transfer using an integration of the Resource-based Theory, Anxiety and Uncertainty Management Theory and the Social Capital Theory based on Malaysian context. This study suggests that future research should consider expatriate-HCN pair samples using other IVs such as trust, network and frequency of interaction, as well as looking at knowledge transfer research from a gender perspective as both men and women have been equally participating in expatriation as their global career option.

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