Media Selection in Knowledge Transfer

Managing knowledge transfer is a complex issue: when firms attempt to accelerate knowledge transfer at a rational cost, there is often a byproduct of knowledge spillover which harms the firms' competitive advantages. As the channel of knowledge transfer, media play a vital role for the success of knowledge transfer. However, the extant literature offers neither comprehensive framework nor a decision method to guide firms' media selection in knowledge transfer. This article develops a framework of media selection from the perspectives of performance, cost, and risk of knowledge spillover, and proposes a decision model of media selection in knowledge transfer based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Finally, this article applies the model to a case study to verify its effectiveness in practice. The framework is helpful to guide firms' media selection, and the decision model is valuable to facilitate firms' media selection in big knowledge transfer projects.

Project management control within a multicultural setting

Purpose

There is a growing debate and research stream on the influence of national culture on the type and nature of management control systems (MCSs) used by organizations in the country. A specific case is the management control of projects executed in a multicultural international environment. The purpose of this paper is to describe the findings of a study into the role of national cultures in controlling a project which a multinational undertook in four countries.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on project management control literature a theoretical MCS for international projects is developed. Subsequently, the influence of national culture on this system is discussed, using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Then the theoretical system is applied on the project the multinational case company executed in four countries (Austria, Finland, India, and Russia).

Findings

A key finding is that different national cultures do require different types of control, but that this effect is neutralized by the culture of the multinational which is the same all over the world and which supersedes national cultures. This makes it possible to implement a standardized project management control framework.

Originality/value

The research yielded a conceptual project management control framework which in practice seemed to be useful for controlling not only the process and progress but also the product (end result) of a project in a multicultural environment.

A Hybrid Cloud Model for Cloud Adoption by Multinational Enterprises

As a new IT paradigm for users, cloud computing has the potential to transform the way that IT resources are utilized and consumed. Many multinational enterprises (MNEs) are interested in cloud computing but do not know how to adopt and implement cloud computing in their enterprise settings. In an effort to help MNEs understand cloud computing and develop successful enterprise adoption strategies for cloud computing, the authors propose a hybrid cloud model for MNEs and illustrate the utility of this model by using two case studies. Insights for adopting and implementing this model in international settings are provided as well.

Global Information Management Research

This study assesses the past decade in the GIM domain, based on Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM) research findings. Based on the issues addressed by these articles, the authors develop 11 topical categories and discuss each in terms of the accumulation of knowledge contributed by these findings. The authors also discuss for each topic possible extension and further understanding based on related research in international business. In consideration of the topics of these articles, a large number simultaneously addressing multiple topics and potential of explicitly linking these topics in future research are discussed. Additionally, the authors update prior quantitative analysis considering JGIM citations of key international business scholars, evolution of research methods, and levels of scope and analysis in these articles. Finally, the authors indicate gaps in the body of research within categories, when categories are considered in relationships, and when looking further from the perspective of recent IB research.