The process of external knowledge transfer to developing countries : An empirical research about its main influencing factors & barriers

In the purest sense of the term, the transfer of knowledge deals with certain activities that attempt to pass on knowledge to another unit. In the course of globalization, companies seek nowadays the collaboration with other companies or organizations in developing countries, in order to benefit from several advantages like reduced labor costs. Next to that, a myriad of companies or organizations carry out projects with partners that are situated in developing countries, only with the attempt to fill the gap of knowledge between developed and developing world – knowledge that is particularly needed in those countries in order for them to reach certain standards of living and to keep up with the rapid development that takes place in other parts of the world. This paper investigates with the help of five selected cases the impact of the main influencing factors and barriers on the success of this type of knowledge transfer, as they are perceived by companies from developed countries. Thereby, this paper aims at providing information about their importance in the corresponding contexts and at giving inspiration on the ways these factors can be dealt with. The exploratory results suggest that by covering specific aspects from the beginning, the companies or organizations involved can overcome the majority of the factors and barriers. Furthermore, it is pointed out that the importance of each factor varies heavily depending on the context: the process of internal knowledge transfer requires the companies to concentrate their attention on different aspects than in the context of external knowledge transfer