Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, Second Edition

Taking Stock of Past Research

Given the multitude of Asian countries and the diversity of Asian cultures and institutional contexts, it is not possible to distinguish substantive themes that cover each of these locations. Prior research into organizational learning in Asia (excluding Japanese organizations on home soil) has explored four broad issues, which we shall review below. The first two of these are theory-oriented while the latter two focus more on practice (Easterby-Smith and Lyles, 2003). The issues are:

• knowledge management involving joint ventures in Asia;
• knowledge management involving wholly-owned subsidiaries in Asia;
• transfer of organizational learning practices to Asia; and
• measuring organizational learning in Asia.

Knowledge management involving joint ventures in Asia

Among studies of Asia-based joint ventures, we can distinguish those undertaken in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from those undertaken in non-Chinese countries. Studies of PRC-based cross-national joint ventures involving partners from Hong Kong or Singapore indicate that the flow of managerial and technical expertise has been overwhelmingly one-way to the mainland partner (Wang and Nicholas, 2005). Learning for the overseas Chinese partners has derived from the joint venturing experience itself, including how to work amicably with PRC-based partners while signaling to them, without causing loss of face, that proprietary knowledge is not open to disclosure (Wang and Nicholas, 2005). Reflecting ...