The influence of national culture on knowledge management in virtual teams

Knowledge management (KM) has emerged as a critical factor in both organizational and academic settings in distributed contexts that increasingly engage multiple national cultures. This chapter explores aspects of national culture with respect to characteristics of KM in virtual teams supported with both synchronous and asynchronous technologies. The HKNET project, involving participants from three continents and extending over seven years, is used as a foundation and point of departure. Findings are presented to provide credibility and ease understanding of relevant issues with special attention given to cultural convergence. Discussion extends to application of findings in virtual teams within commercial organizations as an illustration of generalizability and corporate impact. Implications for practice are drawn. The chapter concludes with a model ofthe interaction dynamics associated with national culture, technology choice, and knowledge management process and outcomes