Intercultural transfer of professional knowledge in international partnerships.

Abstract

International partnerships between libraries are an oft-used approach to transferring professional knowledge across national borders, with the intent of developing the profession in both nations. Unfortunately, such partnerships are routinely unsuccessful. An assumption exists in the library and information science profession that international partnerships are a good mechanism for developing libraries worldwide, without a full understanding of how they work and how they could be improved. Very little empirical research has been conducted on the nature of such partnerships; the processes of knowledge transfer that go on within them; and the factors that affect the partnerships and ultimately the knowledge transfer. The purpose of this dissertation research was to examine one international partnership for the factors and processes that establish and sustain a communicative environment enabling the successful transfer of professional knowledge. Given that international partnerships rely on interpersonal communication to transfer knowledge, the diffusion of innovations theory was an appropriate guide to this research. The Katz, Levin and Hamilton (1963) seven-element model provided a detailed framework for the data collection, analysis and interpretation of findings. Using a case study design set in a naturalistic inquiry approach, the experiences of members in a group of international partnerships were explored. The study participants were the members of the American Bulgarian Library Exchange (ABLE), an international partnership project. Data were collected by five methods: individual interviews, focus group interviews, documentation collection, direct observation, and participant journals. These data and accompanying research notes were analyzed with a constant comparative technique supported by the computer assisted qualitative data analysis software N-Vivo7. The findings showed that multiple factors affected the international partnerships in the ABLE case. Facilitating factors included the participants' commitment and interest; a shared profession; support from multiple social structures; opportunities for face-to-face communication; and a shared language. Inhibiting factors included a lack of time; feeling obligated to participate; difficulties with communication technologies; an unsupportive social structure and significant language differences. While the research presented here has certain limitations based on the case study approach, the findings indicate a rich terrain of future research. MeayryHapoflHHTe SnGjiHOTeHHH napTHBopcTBa ca MHoro necT no/rxofl 3a npeHacaHe Ha npo^ecnoHanHH 3HaHM npe3 rpaHHiia c rjeji pa3BHBaHe Ha npo^ecnaTa H B RBeTQ cTpaHH. 3a CBKajieHHe TaKHBa napTHBopcTBa OGHKHOBCHO ca HeycneniHH. Cpea 6H6nHOTeHHO-HH4)opMau:HOHHaTa OGIITHOCT e npneTo, ne MeamyHapo^HHTe napTHBopcTBa ca flo6i>p MexaHH3BM 3a pa3BHTHe Ha 6H6jiHOTeKHTe no CBeTa, HO HaMa nanocTHO pa36npaHe 3a TOBa KaK pa6oT3T Te H KaK 6nxa MorjiH %a ce no,zio6paT. MajiKo eMnnpHHHH H3Jie^BaHHa ca npoBe^eHH OTHOCHO c&nrHOCTra Ha no^oGHH napTHBopcTBa; OTHOCHO npoueca Ha TpaHc<J)ep Ha 3HaHHa, KOHTO TH cbntTCTBa; OTHOCHO (|)aKTopHTe, KOHTO noBJiHHBaT Ha napTHtopcTBaTa H B Kpaa Ha KpaHmara, TpaHc<j)epa Ha 3HaHHs. IJejiTa Ha TOBa .ZTHcepTaiiHOHHO H3cneflBaHe e m npoynn e^HO MeaqryHapoflHO napTHtopcTBO c 4>aKT0pHTe H npouecHTe, KOHTO ct3flaBaT H no^BpacaT KOMyHHKaTHBHa cpe^a, flaBama BB3MO»CHOCT 3a ycnemeH TpaHc^ep Ha npo^ecHOHajiHH 3HaHHa. TBH KaTo Meac^yHapoflHHTe napTHBopcTBa pa3HHTar Ha MeacjryflHHHocTHaTa KOMyHHKaHHa 3a TpaHctbep Ha 3HaHHa, no^xoflama HacoKa 3a TOBa rocjieflBaHe 6eme TeopHSTa 3a RaHpysvia. Ha HHOBaHEorre. Mo^eutT OT ce^eM eneMeHTa Ha Kan;, JleBHH H XaMHJirbH (1963) ocnrypH no^poGHa paMKa 3a cb6HpaHe Ha aaHHH, aHajrH3H H HHTepnpeTaHHa Ha OTKpHTHaTa. OnHTBT Ha HJieHOBeTe Ha rpyna OT MeagryHapo,a;Ho napTHtopcTBO 6enie npoyneH, KaTo ce H3noji3Ba Moaen Ha H3CJieflBaHe Ha o6eicr H npoMeHHTe My BBB BpeMeTO Hpe3 cb6apaHe Ha CBeaeHHa B ecTecTBeHa cpe^a. YHacTHHmTTe B H3CJieflBaHeTO 6axa HJieHOBeTe Ha AMepHKaHCKo-GBJirapcKHa GnGjiHOTeneH O6MCH (ABLE), npoeKT 3a MeaqryHapczmo napTHtopcTBO. ^aHHHTe 6axa ct6paHH no neT MeTo.ua: HHflHBHflyajiHH HHTepBK>Ta, HHTepBiOTa npe3 (|)OKyc-rpynH, KOMnneKTyBaHe Ha floicyMeHTH, npaKO Ha6jnofleHHe, KaKTO H zmeBHHnHTe Ha yqacTHKHHTe. Te3H aaHHH H cbnpoBoawaniHTe HayHHH 6ejieaocH 6axa aHaJiH3HpaHH c nocToaHHa cpaBHHTejiHa TexHHKa, no^inoMorHaTa OT co<j)Tyep 3a KanecTBeHH aHajiH3H Ha flaHHH NVivo7.

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