Abstract
This empirical article focuses on the phenomenon of trust and its influence on the trilogy of the following interrelated factors that are crucial to the success of international business cooperations and their economic results: knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and knowledge transfer. Trust is expected and desired by many business partners, but it is also abused by others. The term trust, due to its intangible and invisible nature, is often ignored or superficially treated by companies. However, when trust does not exist between international cooperation partners or is not nurtured, negative relationships and financial implications occur. These lacunae could be explained due to the difficulty in quantifying as a financial asset. The article presents qualitative findings (from two empirical research studies): (1) the implications of trust development for knowledge transfer between Russian- and German-speaking companies, and (2) the influence of trust on knowledge sharing in the completion of an Austrian construction project. The authors applied phenomenological interviewing and observations of critical incidents or significant occurrences, combined with comparative content analysis. The positive influence of trust on the aforementioned trilogy results in higher levels of the involved companies’ innovativeness, culminating in higher levels of competitive advantage and profitability. The empirical findings are presented to explain the influence of trust on knowledge creation, sharing, and transfer, which have a bearing on intercultural cooperations. One innovative finding relates to the differentiated perception of emotions and the implications that this entails. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.