Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of boxes
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introducing the phenomenon of global software work
- 2 Globalization and global software work
- 3 GlobTel's GSA programme in India
- 4 The GlobTel–Witech relationship: a ‘standardization’ perspective
- 5 Global software work: an identity perspective
- 6 The GlobTel–MCI relationship: the dialectics of space and place
- 7 Managing the knowledge transfer process: the case of Sierra and its Indian subsidiary
- 8 The case of Gowing and Eron GSA: power and control
- 9 Cross-cultural communication challenges: GSAs between Japanese and Indian firms
- 10 Reflections and synthesis on theoretical insights
- 11 Managerial implications
- Index
- References
7 - Managing the knowledge transfer process: the case of Sierra and its Indian subsidiary
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2010
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of boxes
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introducing the phenomenon of global software work
- 2 Globalization and global software work
- 3 GlobTel's GSA programme in India
- 4 The GlobTel–Witech relationship: a ‘standardization’ perspective
- 5 Global software work: an identity perspective
- 6 The GlobTel–MCI relationship: the dialectics of space and place
- 7 Managing the knowledge transfer process: the case of Sierra and its Indian subsidiary
- 8 The case of Gowing and Eron GSA: power and control
- 9 Cross-cultural communication challenges: GSAs between Japanese and Indian firms
- 10 Reflections and synthesis on theoretical insights
- 11 Managerial implications
- Index
- References
Summary
GSW: a knowledge perspective
This chapter introduces the importance of taking a knowledge perspective to understand the process of growth of a GSA. Software development in general is an example of knowledge-intensive work. When taken in the context of global separation, the knowledge intensity is magnified many times over. In addition to domain-specific product knowledge, it requires a deep understanding of the multiple local contexts involved and the ongoing and changing development requirements. Many of these requirements remain undocumented and tacitly held by individuals and groups.
The significance of the knowledge transfer process can be analysed at multiple levels: institutions, project teams and individuals. Institutional reflexivity, which Giddens (1990) has described to be a defining feature of globalization, is particularly emphasized in knowledge-intensive software development work. Continuously and reflexively, firms must monitor new knowledge about technologies, organizations and markets. They must make changes in their own processes as the situation demands. The need for continuous reflexive action is significant because of the speed at which new knowledge about software is being generated and the tremendous interconnectivity between global systems (including electronic) that facilitates the spread of new knowledge from one part of the world to others.
The knowledge perspective is equally significant at the level of project teams and the individuals in the teams. Most software development firms comprise multiple teams working with different clients, engaging in different technologies and serving various markets and products.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Global IT OutsourcingSoftware Development across Borders, pp. 132 - 154Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
References
and (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: conceptual foundations and research issues, MIS Quarterly, 25, 1, 107–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1998). complex problem solving in the cultural context, Le Travail Humain, 61, 1, 1–28Google Scholar
Baumard, P. (1999). Tacit Knowledge in Organizations, London: Corwin Press
(1995). Knowledge, knowledge work and organizations: an overview and interpretation, Organization Studies. 16, 6, 1047–75CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1991). Organizational learning and communities of practice: toward a unified view of working, learning and innovation, Organization Science40–57CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. S. and Duguid, P.(2000). The Social Life of Information, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press
Carmel, E. (1999). Global Software Teams, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
, and (1993). The effect of national culture on information systems: implications for international information systems, Journal of Global Information Management, 1, 1, 33–44CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garfinkel, H. (1967). Studies in Ethnomethodology, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
Giddens, A. (1984). The Constitution of Society, Cambridge: Polity Press
Giddens, A.(1990). The Consequences of Modernity, Cambridge: Polity Press
, , and (2001). ‘Synching’ or ‘sinking’: trajectories and strategies in gobal software outsourcing relationships, Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Software, 18, 2, 54–62Google Scholar
(1997). Embedded firms, embedded knowledge: problems of collaboration and knowledge transfer in global cooperative ventures, Organization Studies 18, 6, 973–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1993). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, New York: Cambridge University Press
Little, S. (2001). Conclusion: managing knowledge in a global framework, in S. Little, P. Quintas and T. Ray (eds.), Managing Knowledge. An Essential Reader, London: Sage, 368–89
Massey, D. (1995). Space, Place and Gender, Cambridge: Polity Press
and (2000). Bridging space over time: global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness, Organization Science, 11, 5, 473–92CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholson, B. (1999). The Process of Software Development across Time and Space: The Case of Outsourcing to India, unpublished PhD thesis, Salford University, United Kingdom
and (2001). The political and cultural implications of the globalisation of software development: case experience from United Kingdom and India, Information and Organisation, 11, 1, 25–44CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orr, J. (1990). Sharing knowledge, celebrating identity: community memory in a service culture, in D. Middleton and D. Edwards (eds.), Collective Remembering, London: Sage, 169–89
Polanyi, M. (1962). Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post Critical Philosophy, New York: Harper Torchbooks
Polanyi, M.(1966). The Tacit Dimension, New York: Anchor Day Books
Sinha, D. and Sinha, M. (1990). Dissonance in work culture in India, in A. D. Moddie (ed.), The Concept of Work in Indian Society, New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 206–19
(1984). A model of effective leadership styles, India International Studies of Man and Organizations, 14, 86–98CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1983). Concepts of culture and organizational analysis, Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 3, 339–58CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1999). Software cultures, Communications of the Association of Computing Manufacturers, 42, 12, 71–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1996). The firm as a distributed knowledge system: a constructionist approach, Strategic Management Journal, 17, 11–25CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winograd, T. and Flores, F. (1987). Understanding Computers and Cognition, Bristol: Intellect Books
Zuboff, S. (1988). In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power, New York: Basic Books
Accessibility standard: Unknown
Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown
and may be updated in the future.
- 2
- Cited by