Organizational Learning in Asia

Organizational Learning in Asia: Issues and Challenges addresses important and pressing questions on organizational learning in Asia in both domestic and foreign firms—those that have been forgotten in the mainstream literature or that remain unasked and unanswered.

Three sets of questions are especially salient. First, how can firms operating in, or from, Asia detect, respect, recognize, and honor different cultural stances on suggestion-giving, knowledge sharing, and standardization while also challenging accepted wisdom, avoiding risks and mistakes, and voicing disagreement?

Second, how can such firms facilitate local experimentation and innovation by providing a common knowledge platform in a non-totalitarian manner? Finally, how can such forums promote ‘reverse’ knowledge transfer from subsidiary to headquarters and across subsidiaries in different nations by avoiding ethnocentricity, cultivating local talent, and building a group of 'communities of practice' across cultural and status boundaries?

• Addresses important and pressing questions about organizational learning in Asia for both domestic and foreign firms
• Explores how such firms can facilitate local experimentation and innovation
• Promotes ‘reverse’ knowledge transfer from subsidiary, to headquarters, and across subsidiaries in different nations

Academics and researchers working in the fields of knowledge management and organizational learning, managers in MNCs with operations in the Asia-Pacific region and for senior executives of local firms located there

Part I: Introduction and Background

Chapter 1. Introduction: Organizational Learning in Context, Not Isolation

• Abstract
• Debates on Organizational Learning: Context-Free or Context-Specific?
• Asia as a Research Context
• Overview of Contributions to this Volume
• Conclusion
• References

Chapter 2. Organizational Learning in the Context of Institutional Voids: Government Interventionism and Business Networks in Asia

• Abstract
• Institutional Voids
• Cases
• Government Intervention
• Business Networks
• Summary and Implications for Organizational Learning
• References

Part II: Learning At Individual And Team Levels

Chapter 3. Lose it to Gain it! Unlearning by Individuals and Relearning as a Team

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Purpose of the Study
• Significance of the Study
• Context of the Study
• Theoretical Perspectives
• Methods
• Findings
• Relearning the Knowledge ‘space’ for Team Learning
• Managerial Implications
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendix Interview Questions

Chapter 4. Knowledge Management Strategies, Imitation, and Innovation: An Empirical Study of Vietnamese Firms

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Background Information about Vietnamese Firms
• Literature Review and Theoretical Framework
• Imitation
• Survey Research
• Results
• Discussion and Conclusions
• References
• Appendix Measurement Scales
• Personalization Strategy
• Imitation Orientation
• Innovation

Part III: Learning At Organizational & Inter-Organizational Levels

Chapter 5. An Entrepreneurial Perspective on Developed Economy Firms’ Learning from Asia

• Abstract
• Introduction
• The Context of International Business Competition
• A Sample of ‘reverse’ Knowledge Transfers
• Conclusion
• References

Chapter 6. How Chinese Exporters Acquire Learning Capability: Empirical Evidence from an Emerging Economy

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature Review and Conceptual Model
• Impact of Market Learning on Export Performance
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion and conclusion
• Limitations and Future Research Directions
• References

Chapter 7. Public–Private Partnerships in Chinese Hospitals and Knowledge Transfer

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• A Comparison of Chinese Hospital Public–Private Partnership Knowledge Transfer Mechanisms
• Discussion
• References

Part IV: Conclusions

Chapter 8. A Contextual Perspective on Organizational Learning

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Is Organizational Learning a Universal Theory?
• The Need for Researchers to Conduct Applicability Examinations
• Applicability Examination and Construction of Customized Models
• Conclusion
• References

Chapter 9. Conclusion: Challenges for Organizational Learning—Institutional Contexts, Cross-Border Knowledge and Context

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Directions for Future Research
• Conclusion
• References