Cross-border transfer of knowledge: Cultural lessons from Project GLOBE

Abstract

Distant cross-border business is on the rise. It necessitates effective transfer of knowledge across geographic and cultural borders. In this article we present the key results from the GLOBE study of 62 cultures and apply them to a real-life case of a North European business school designing and offering a substantial executive development program for a large South Asian corporation. We show how cultural differences can complicate the successful transfer of knowledge across borders and make recommendations on how executives can better manage the complex task of transferring knowledge across cultures. We provide advice on how GLOBE findings can be used to better manage the content and process issues in such transfers.