Knowledge creation in a cross cultural context for sustainable organisational change and development

Abstract

The central theme of this doctoral research is organisational knowledge creation in the cross cultural context of the post-socialist transition of former Eastern European (EE) countries towards a more liberal market structure and methods of working. This transition was particularly important for those countries seeking European Union (EU) accession such as Romania, and impacted on those organisations having a major role in accession such as the Romanian Border Police (RBP). The need for organisations to expand their knowledge of strategic decision making for change and development resulted in a plethora of EU-funded training interventions to fill the gap. The literature suggests that as a result of the dominance of Western ideology of the transitional process, cognitive dissonance and a general disconnect with the outcomes of EU-funded projects was a product of such interventions. This research explores how a more collaborative co-inquiry methodology with partners can bring about knowledge creation as a more sustainable and significant approach for organisational change. Specifically, it investigates the reflective capabilities of a group of Romanian Border Police (RBP) managers to reveal how they can create knowledge for organisational change and development in preparation for EU accession. Simultaneously a framework for facilitation was developed as a result of using the original research of Geppert and Clark (2002) and Breiter and Scardamalia (2000), as a foundation for the operationalisation of the research and in the attempt to move away from traditional models of knowledge transfer to further develop the changing dimensions of training interventions in the EE as suggested by Michaelova and Hollinshead (2007). It is offered as a purposeful method for the sustainable organisation, in preference to western style knowledge transfer projects. The findings result in a complex model of knowledge creation for the RBP and a better understanding of how Western trainers can work with EE organisations to achieve the desired outcomes for developing organisations. Moreover recommendations are made on how the EU can best utilise this research as a basis for funding future knowledge transfer projects, to guarantee that funding is having an impact on developing organisations at a time of austerity.