Creating Knowledge Advantage: The Tacit Dimensions of International Competition & Co-Operation

Tacit knowledge is one of the most important, yet least understood, resources of any business firm. Variously regarded as a source of wisdom, a store of creative power, and facilitator of competitive advantage, tacit knowledge has long been viewed as an organizational resource. In Creating Knowledge Advantage, Nigel Holden and Martin Glisby go beyond this to argue that tacit knowledge is also a significant factor which shapes and reshapes cross-cultural cooperation and competition. They illustrate this conviction with four case studies that take the reader into a wide variety of cultural contexts and they demonstrate very contrasting experiences in untapping tacit knowledge in international business operations. Although written with MBA students in mind, who are destined to become cross-cultural knowledge workers (though they may not have seen themselves in this way before), this pioneering book will appeal to all students and practitioners of international business for its cross-cultural insights about tacit knowledge in everyday business activities.

Nigel Holden obtained his PhD at Manchester Business School in 1986 and is Professor of Cross-Cultural Management at the Lancashire Business School (University of Central Lancashire), where he is co-director of the Institute of International Business. He has previously held professional appointments at business schools in the UK, Germany and Denmark. Since 2006 and 2007 respectively he has held visiting professorships at the Danube University in Austria and Aalbong University in Denmark. He has co-authored management books on Japan (1994) and Russia (1998), and his well-regarded Cross-cultural management. A knowledge management perspective (2002) was published in Russian in 2005 and in Chinese in 2006. Nigel is co-founder and an associate editor of the European Journal of International Management, which was launched in 2007 and co-editor of the European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence and Management, launched in 2008. He has been an adviser to UNIDO and consultant to the IAEA since 2008 and 2009 respectively on cultural impacts on knowledge management. A speaker of German and Russian Nigel Holden is co-founder and director of Glisby Holden & Glisby Holden & Associates Ltd.
Martin Glisby has held positions as Chairman Managing Director and Board Member of several companies with special reference to Asia. A consultant to government agencies, foundations and companies in various industries, he is a frequent speaker on Asia business strategy at business schools in Europe and practitioner seminars worldwide. Martin holds a BSc and MSc degree in strategy and Asian business systems from Copenhagen Business School where he was the recipient of the best MSc degree award. He has subsequently obtained diplomas in strategy and Asian management systems from Harvard Business School and INSEAd in Singapore, respectively. Martin is co-author with Nigel Holden of several academic articles on knowledge management. A Danish citizen, he is fluent both in Japanese and English Martin is co-founder and director of Glisby Holden & Associates Ltd.