SlideShare a Scribd company logo
1 of 13
Download to read offline
Expository factors of the successful Knowledge Transfers Across Borders:
The case of Avatar Solar; Inc. in India – Part II
• ENM 397P Fall 2016
• Presenter : Nehal Dixit ( nsd463)
• Supervisor : Prof. Caroline Bartel
• Corporate Advisor : Falgun Dave | Hemal Doshi
Purpose of Research
• Stage 1: ( Summer 2016 ) – Theoretical Concept Evaluation
“ By evaluating Avatar Solar.Inc’s Indian expansion, the study will examine the phenomenon of cross-border organizational
practice transfer and investigate the existing literature on knowledge transfer and adaptation in general, the theoretical
foundation of knowledge and technology transfer with a look at the theory of institutional distance and Introduction to Country’s
Institutional Profile in this case It is in between the United States and India”
• Stage 2: ( Fall 2016) - Applied Research
 Conduct interviews with various entities involved in the Avatar’s core team.
 Country analysis of India with its growth potential in power sector using cultural models.
 Simulation of reverse transfer from India to the United States to fill gap in existing literature.
 Analysis of Avatar’s approach with a recommendation and exploring limitations in the research.
• Central purpose of the paper revolves around these two questions
 What constitutes a successful technology/knowledge transfer?
 What are the critical success factors of cross-border knowledge transfer?
Summary from Summer Project I
CIP India: Why so crucial???
• Economic environment
– The 2011 Index of Economic Freedom shows that India, - with its overall score of 54.6 - was the 124th freest economy in the world
– The 2011-12 World Economic Forum’s Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance - India earned an overall 56th place after Brazil.
•
• Political and legal environment
– Starting a new business is difficult in India as compared to the United States.
– CPI ranks India at 95 ( scored 31 ) and the USA at 24 ( Scored 71 ) out of 185 nations and 100 points – corruption is indeed a big issue in India.
– As a summary, it is obvious that the institutional distance between India and the United States based on political and legal frameworks was
large, which could potentially increase the chance of difficulties in transferring best practices between these countries.
• Culture of India – Cognitive and Normative institutions
– The analysis will compare the United States and India based on different cultural models that are widely used in literature: the GLOBE study,
Hofstede’s Five Dimensions, Lewis’ communication model, Hall’s dimensions and Trompenaar’s seven dimensions model.
Models of comparisons
• Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Model
– Caste system affects many components for Indian society.
– Collectivist Indians Vs Individualist Americans
– Karma believers Indians Vs. Tit for tat Americans
– Restraint Indians Vs Indulgent Americans
Models of Comparison
• The Lewis model of culture
• Trompenaar’s 7D Model
• Edward T. Hall’s cultural contexts
– The US is low context; India is high and low context
 India is in the middle between Multi-active and Reactive, while
the United States is clearly a data-oriented linear-active culture.
Reverse Osmosis: Technology Transfer from India to United States
“ KT can be mutual and symbiotic despite prominent cultural gap – Nehal “
• 5.1 Indian cultural values: A blend of East and West?
 The Indian culture has been shaped by Hindu philosophy, British colonialism, Islamic influences and the realpolitik of the Cold War era.
 Why west thinks Indians don’t appreciate time or priorities?
• 5.2 Cultural values and the negotiating style
 Sometimes Indians’ way of hard negotiation is beneficial.
 Indians are little different compared to other Asian nations such as Japanese and Chinese.
 Indians aims to be treated equivalents not a subsidiary partner – renegotiation of T&C might be possible.
• 5.3 Counterintuitive steps: Coping skills for North Americans my recommendation
 Negotiations can be frustrating for North Americans but believe me that’s how things roll in India.
 Things might start bumpy initially but with added trust – process becomes smoother.
 Don’t show your contracts every time there is some issue – It will be taken care of easily with some flexibility.
 Incentives works and if Europe can do it why can’t Americans.
 Negotiated agreements might not work in timely way.
 Role of Global Manager is crucial – a key position that knows both sides and slashes cultural gaps.
 ````

Discussion and finding
“ This section is Resultant of Interviews with Falgun Dave and Hemal Doshi and previous paper I propositions “
• Institutional distance
 US – IND ID is huge | Transfer will be difficult and with low odds of success | Cultural models
 India has growth potential but corruption, infrastructure issues, and weak legal system are red flags.
 Mr. Dave’s dilemma of American way Vs Indian way of doing business
 Crucial role of bridge person – facilitates transfer in the right direction
 it can be concluded that the transfer of practices is more successful when the two countries’ institutional profiles are similar and the institutional distance is
smaller, - so the first proposition is supported. Furthermore, if the institutional distance is smaller, then the people in the recipient country are also more
supportive towards the practice and the transfer is more likely to bring positive results. Prop 1 and II are supported.
• Compatibility of the practice
 In case of Avatar, there was no local subsidiary, so no predefined org. culture.
 Maiden project led avatar to come up with several alliances, thus flexibility was offered.
 Collaborating with vendors whose practices were more or less compatible with the ones Avatar Solar was planning to bring to India proved to
be a good decision.
 Similar approached failed at grass root while working with workers mainly because of primitive education, lack of awareness and diminishing
trust; Possible solution here was to hire a trained workforce to align organizational goals eventually project got delayed by several months.
Discussion & Findings ( contd.. )
• Commitment, identification and trust
 Negative attitude towards the transferred practices are unlikely to develop when considerable time and effort is invested into the process to
increase employee motivation - That’s what Avatar did to overcome this challenge.
 Mr. Dave invested a lot of time into training these workers to develop commitment, identification and trust but still results were not
promising.
 It is believed here showing commitment and trust was a cultural requirement; workers were just pretending.
 To fix that on top of the pre-project training, weekly sessions with the management and the workers were established to make sure that they
understand every aspect of the project and they can identify with the goals and values of the company they are working for.
• Power and dependence
 This mutual dependence resulted in higher trust and collaboration from both side and had great impact on the final outcome of the project.
 In case of Plant workers – implementation of transfer was successful but not internalization; global managers play a vital role
 Furthermore the more the recipient unit trusts in the parent or identifies with its values, the less the power distance and perceived
dependence
Conclusion
• Two different CIPs, do not mean, that the transfer is designed to failure. As the case of Avatar Solar, Inc. showed a so-called
“bridge-person” can decrease the distance between the two countries and serve as a mediator, especially regarding beliefs,
values and norms of the target country in the Avatar’s case this person was Mr. Nehal Dixit - these are recommendations
from Mr. Dave and Mr. Doshi.
• The intelligence and education level recipient unit is also a crucial determinant of transfer success, which further supports
the need for preparation and training time before implementing and internalizing the given practices are to be part of
project charter.
Summary
• What constitutes a successful technology/knowledge transfer?
– The transfer will be successful if the parent invests considerable time and effort to make the practices compatible for
the recipient unit and applies organizational socialization methods to ensure collaboration, establish trust and
identity, engage people and decrease the perception of dependence. Furthermore, mutual dependence can serve as a
motivator to achieve all of the above factors considered critical for a successful transfer.
• What are the critical success factors of cross-border knowledge transfer?
– knowledge transfer across national borders is considered successful if the two countries institutional profiles are
similar, or there are one or more people in the parent companies ‘core-team’ who are familiar with the recipient
country’s cognitive and normative profiles and can reduce the possible transfer difficulties resulting from institutional
distance.
Limitation for Future research
• Litigation challenges faced by the company in India forbid me from including details of recent discovery
that can be useful for future international endeavors.
• The legal dispute can be taken as the one of the unforeseen drawbacks associated with Cross-Continental
knowledge transfer is subject matter of the legal frame-work, which is also different in case of these two
countries.
• It was not possible to visit the plant in India and conduct interviews with the current workers or vendor
partners involved post installation for the project. Thus, only one side of story is shared from the
developers however, Indian counterpart is left out.
Sustainable Questions??

More Related Content

Similar to Final_Summer_Project_presenatation

Adaptive Capacity as a Proactive Approach
Adaptive Capacity as a Proactive ApproachAdaptive Capacity as a Proactive Approach
Adaptive Capacity as a Proactive Approachcgorley
 
Exploring the Use of Storytelling as Knowledge Transfer Tool in Organizations
Exploring the Use of Storytelling as Knowledge Transfer Tool in OrganizationsExploring the Use of Storytelling as Knowledge Transfer Tool in Organizations
Exploring the Use of Storytelling as Knowledge Transfer Tool in OrganizationsKhairul Shafee Kalid
 
The meanings and dimensions of culture
The meanings and dimensions of cultureThe meanings and dimensions of culture
The meanings and dimensions of cultureUjjwal 'Shanu'
 
Beyond curiosity: building on initial professional development opportunities ...
Beyond curiosity: building on initial professional development opportunities ...Beyond curiosity: building on initial professional development opportunities ...
Beyond curiosity: building on initial professional development opportunities ...Frederic Fovet
 
Innovation is not for Lone Rangers
Innovation is not for Lone Rangers Innovation is not for Lone Rangers
Innovation is not for Lone Rangers Cathy Cecere
 
Effective Strategy in Local & Regional Development
Effective Strategy in Local & Regional DevelopmentEffective Strategy in Local & Regional Development
Effective Strategy in Local & Regional DevelopmentScott Hutcheson, Ph.D.
 
Finding the Fulcrum, Tipping Boulders: Strategic Approaches to Effecting Change
 Finding the Fulcrum, Tipping Boulders: Strategic Approaches to Effecting Change Finding the Fulcrum, Tipping Boulders: Strategic Approaches to Effecting Change
Finding the Fulcrum, Tipping Boulders: Strategic Approaches to Effecting ChangeJeff Willinger
 
Focus Group Protocol - Themes & Questions
Focus Group Protocol - Themes & QuestionsFocus Group Protocol - Themes & Questions
Focus Group Protocol - Themes & QuestionsEmbedding Employability
 
Increasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea Partnerships
Increasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea PartnershipsIncreasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea Partnerships
Increasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea PartnershipsCatherine (Cass) Mercer Bing
 
The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture
The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture
The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture Ujjwal 'Shanu'
 
Project managment Knowmads Tribe 8 2013
Project managment Knowmads Tribe 8 2013Project managment Knowmads Tribe 8 2013
Project managment Knowmads Tribe 8 2013Pieter Spinder
 
International differences in work-related values
International differences in work-related valuesInternational differences in work-related values
International differences in work-related valuesSzu-Chia Huang
 
Knowledge Management in Project-Based Organizations
Knowledge Management in Project-Based OrganizationsKnowledge Management in Project-Based Organizations
Knowledge Management in Project-Based OrganizationsOlivier Serrat
 
Module 1.ppt
Module 1.pptModule 1.ppt
Module 1.pptMallika N
 
Human resource issues in trans cultural organisation
Human resource issues in trans cultural organisationHuman resource issues in trans cultural organisation
Human resource issues in trans cultural organisationAakash Khandelwal
 

Similar to Final_Summer_Project_presenatation (20)

Stef Bassler_Work Example
Stef Bassler_Work ExampleStef Bassler_Work Example
Stef Bassler_Work Example
 
Adaptive Capacity as a Proactive Approach
Adaptive Capacity as a Proactive ApproachAdaptive Capacity as a Proactive Approach
Adaptive Capacity as a Proactive Approach
 
Exploring the Use of Storytelling as Knowledge Transfer Tool in Organizations
Exploring the Use of Storytelling as Knowledge Transfer Tool in OrganizationsExploring the Use of Storytelling as Knowledge Transfer Tool in Organizations
Exploring the Use of Storytelling as Knowledge Transfer Tool in Organizations
 
The meanings and dimensions of culture
The meanings and dimensions of cultureThe meanings and dimensions of culture
The meanings and dimensions of culture
 
Beyond curiosity: building on initial professional development opportunities ...
Beyond curiosity: building on initial professional development opportunities ...Beyond curiosity: building on initial professional development opportunities ...
Beyond curiosity: building on initial professional development opportunities ...
 
Innovation is not for Lone Rangers
Innovation is not for Lone Rangers Innovation is not for Lone Rangers
Innovation is not for Lone Rangers
 
Effective Strategy in Local & Regional Development
Effective Strategy in Local & Regional DevelopmentEffective Strategy in Local & Regional Development
Effective Strategy in Local & Regional Development
 
Culture And Change Advisory
Culture And Change AdvisoryCulture And Change Advisory
Culture And Change Advisory
 
Finding the Fulcrum, Tipping Boulders: Strategic Approaches to Effecting Change
 Finding the Fulcrum, Tipping Boulders: Strategic Approaches to Effecting Change Finding the Fulcrum, Tipping Boulders: Strategic Approaches to Effecting Change
Finding the Fulcrum, Tipping Boulders: Strategic Approaches to Effecting Change
 
Focus Group Protocol - Themes & Questions
Focus Group Protocol - Themes & QuestionsFocus Group Protocol - Themes & Questions
Focus Group Protocol - Themes & Questions
 
Increasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea Partnerships
Increasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea PartnershipsIncreasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea Partnerships
Increasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea Partnerships
 
The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture
The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture
The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture
 
Aob assignment
Aob assignmentAob assignment
Aob assignment
 
How To Write A Proposal Essay
How To Write A Proposal EssayHow To Write A Proposal Essay
How To Write A Proposal Essay
 
Project managment Knowmads Tribe 8 2013
Project managment Knowmads Tribe 8 2013Project managment Knowmads Tribe 8 2013
Project managment Knowmads Tribe 8 2013
 
International differences in work-related values
International differences in work-related valuesInternational differences in work-related values
International differences in work-related values
 
Knowledge Management in Project-Based Organizations
Knowledge Management in Project-Based OrganizationsKnowledge Management in Project-Based Organizations
Knowledge Management in Project-Based Organizations
 
Research Proposal Essay Topics
Research Proposal Essay TopicsResearch Proposal Essay Topics
Research Proposal Essay Topics
 
Module 1.ppt
Module 1.pptModule 1.ppt
Module 1.ppt
 
Human resource issues in trans cultural organisation
Human resource issues in trans cultural organisationHuman resource issues in trans cultural organisation
Human resource issues in trans cultural organisation
 

Final_Summer_Project_presenatation

  • 1. Expository factors of the successful Knowledge Transfers Across Borders: The case of Avatar Solar; Inc. in India – Part II • ENM 397P Fall 2016 • Presenter : Nehal Dixit ( nsd463) • Supervisor : Prof. Caroline Bartel • Corporate Advisor : Falgun Dave | Hemal Doshi
  • 2. Purpose of Research • Stage 1: ( Summer 2016 ) – Theoretical Concept Evaluation “ By evaluating Avatar Solar.Inc’s Indian expansion, the study will examine the phenomenon of cross-border organizational practice transfer and investigate the existing literature on knowledge transfer and adaptation in general, the theoretical foundation of knowledge and technology transfer with a look at the theory of institutional distance and Introduction to Country’s Institutional Profile in this case It is in between the United States and India” • Stage 2: ( Fall 2016) - Applied Research  Conduct interviews with various entities involved in the Avatar’s core team.  Country analysis of India with its growth potential in power sector using cultural models.  Simulation of reverse transfer from India to the United States to fill gap in existing literature.  Analysis of Avatar’s approach with a recommendation and exploring limitations in the research. • Central purpose of the paper revolves around these two questions  What constitutes a successful technology/knowledge transfer?  What are the critical success factors of cross-border knowledge transfer?
  • 4. CIP India: Why so crucial??? • Economic environment – The 2011 Index of Economic Freedom shows that India, - with its overall score of 54.6 - was the 124th freest economy in the world – The 2011-12 World Economic Forum’s Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance - India earned an overall 56th place after Brazil. • • Political and legal environment – Starting a new business is difficult in India as compared to the United States. – CPI ranks India at 95 ( scored 31 ) and the USA at 24 ( Scored 71 ) out of 185 nations and 100 points – corruption is indeed a big issue in India. – As a summary, it is obvious that the institutional distance between India and the United States based on political and legal frameworks was large, which could potentially increase the chance of difficulties in transferring best practices between these countries. • Culture of India – Cognitive and Normative institutions – The analysis will compare the United States and India based on different cultural models that are widely used in literature: the GLOBE study, Hofstede’s Five Dimensions, Lewis’ communication model, Hall’s dimensions and Trompenaar’s seven dimensions model.
  • 5. Models of comparisons • Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Model – Caste system affects many components for Indian society. – Collectivist Indians Vs Individualist Americans – Karma believers Indians Vs. Tit for tat Americans – Restraint Indians Vs Indulgent Americans
  • 6. Models of Comparison • The Lewis model of culture • Trompenaar’s 7D Model • Edward T. Hall’s cultural contexts – The US is low context; India is high and low context  India is in the middle between Multi-active and Reactive, while the United States is clearly a data-oriented linear-active culture.
  • 7. Reverse Osmosis: Technology Transfer from India to United States “ KT can be mutual and symbiotic despite prominent cultural gap – Nehal “ • 5.1 Indian cultural values: A blend of East and West?  The Indian culture has been shaped by Hindu philosophy, British colonialism, Islamic influences and the realpolitik of the Cold War era.  Why west thinks Indians don’t appreciate time or priorities? • 5.2 Cultural values and the negotiating style  Sometimes Indians’ way of hard negotiation is beneficial.  Indians are little different compared to other Asian nations such as Japanese and Chinese.  Indians aims to be treated equivalents not a subsidiary partner – renegotiation of T&C might be possible. • 5.3 Counterintuitive steps: Coping skills for North Americans my recommendation  Negotiations can be frustrating for North Americans but believe me that’s how things roll in India.  Things might start bumpy initially but with added trust – process becomes smoother.  Don’t show your contracts every time there is some issue – It will be taken care of easily with some flexibility.  Incentives works and if Europe can do it why can’t Americans.  Negotiated agreements might not work in timely way.  Role of Global Manager is crucial – a key position that knows both sides and slashes cultural gaps.  ```` 
  • 8. Discussion and finding “ This section is Resultant of Interviews with Falgun Dave and Hemal Doshi and previous paper I propositions “ • Institutional distance  US – IND ID is huge | Transfer will be difficult and with low odds of success | Cultural models  India has growth potential but corruption, infrastructure issues, and weak legal system are red flags.  Mr. Dave’s dilemma of American way Vs Indian way of doing business  Crucial role of bridge person – facilitates transfer in the right direction  it can be concluded that the transfer of practices is more successful when the two countries’ institutional profiles are similar and the institutional distance is smaller, - so the first proposition is supported. Furthermore, if the institutional distance is smaller, then the people in the recipient country are also more supportive towards the practice and the transfer is more likely to bring positive results. Prop 1 and II are supported. • Compatibility of the practice  In case of Avatar, there was no local subsidiary, so no predefined org. culture.  Maiden project led avatar to come up with several alliances, thus flexibility was offered.  Collaborating with vendors whose practices were more or less compatible with the ones Avatar Solar was planning to bring to India proved to be a good decision.  Similar approached failed at grass root while working with workers mainly because of primitive education, lack of awareness and diminishing trust; Possible solution here was to hire a trained workforce to align organizational goals eventually project got delayed by several months.
  • 9. Discussion & Findings ( contd.. ) • Commitment, identification and trust  Negative attitude towards the transferred practices are unlikely to develop when considerable time and effort is invested into the process to increase employee motivation - That’s what Avatar did to overcome this challenge.  Mr. Dave invested a lot of time into training these workers to develop commitment, identification and trust but still results were not promising.  It is believed here showing commitment and trust was a cultural requirement; workers were just pretending.  To fix that on top of the pre-project training, weekly sessions with the management and the workers were established to make sure that they understand every aspect of the project and they can identify with the goals and values of the company they are working for. • Power and dependence  This mutual dependence resulted in higher trust and collaboration from both side and had great impact on the final outcome of the project.  In case of Plant workers – implementation of transfer was successful but not internalization; global managers play a vital role  Furthermore the more the recipient unit trusts in the parent or identifies with its values, the less the power distance and perceived dependence
  • 10. Conclusion • Two different CIPs, do not mean, that the transfer is designed to failure. As the case of Avatar Solar, Inc. showed a so-called “bridge-person” can decrease the distance between the two countries and serve as a mediator, especially regarding beliefs, values and norms of the target country in the Avatar’s case this person was Mr. Nehal Dixit - these are recommendations from Mr. Dave and Mr. Doshi. • The intelligence and education level recipient unit is also a crucial determinant of transfer success, which further supports the need for preparation and training time before implementing and internalizing the given practices are to be part of project charter.
  • 11. Summary • What constitutes a successful technology/knowledge transfer? – The transfer will be successful if the parent invests considerable time and effort to make the practices compatible for the recipient unit and applies organizational socialization methods to ensure collaboration, establish trust and identity, engage people and decrease the perception of dependence. Furthermore, mutual dependence can serve as a motivator to achieve all of the above factors considered critical for a successful transfer. • What are the critical success factors of cross-border knowledge transfer? – knowledge transfer across national borders is considered successful if the two countries institutional profiles are similar, or there are one or more people in the parent companies ‘core-team’ who are familiar with the recipient country’s cognitive and normative profiles and can reduce the possible transfer difficulties resulting from institutional distance.
  • 12. Limitation for Future research • Litigation challenges faced by the company in India forbid me from including details of recent discovery that can be useful for future international endeavors. • The legal dispute can be taken as the one of the unforeseen drawbacks associated with Cross-Continental knowledge transfer is subject matter of the legal frame-work, which is also different in case of these two countries. • It was not possible to visit the plant in India and conduct interviews with the current workers or vendor partners involved post installation for the project. Thus, only one side of story is shared from the developers however, Indian counterpart is left out.

Editor's Notes

  1. Pr 1:I propose that the success of transfer of a strategic organizational practice to the recipient country will be negatively correlated with the institutional distance between the home and host country. Additionally, the more favorable the country«s institutional profile (regulatory, cognitive and normative framework) is, the more likely the implementation and adoption of an organizational practice will bring positive results. Pr 2 As a conclusion, I propose that the higher the compatibility of the practice is with the recipient organization«s values, the more likely that the practice transfer will lead to a positive outcome. Furthermore, if the recipient organization«s culture supports learning and change, the transfer of a strategic organizational practice from the parent to the recipient unit will be more successful. Pr 3 I assume that the success of a cross-border practice transfer will depend on the degree how much the foreign subsidiary is committed to, identifies with and trusts in its parent company. Pr 4 I propose, that the process of cross-border practice transfer is affected by the perceived dependence of the foreign subsidiary on the parent company. Power and dependence are however positively related to implementation and negatively to the internalization of the given practice.
  2. United States is a low-context culture, preferring explicit and direct communication, short interpersonal relationships with dependence on what is actually said or written. Because of the cultural diversity within the country, India is in between being a low and high context culture. Normally their communication reflects high context features - being respectful to elderly people and using communication to maintain harmony and relationships -, but it tends to move towards a low context culture, especially in communication style. It is more diffuse and dialogue oriented than the Japanese or Chinese culture.
  3. That time is not wasted but it goes to convince our own people to lenient their differences - work for bigger picture. Though Hard negotiation costed us dearly for paying delay penalities but hard negotiinasaved 2.75 million dollars in equipment – rapid decsion making won’t be tha fruitful – Foreign ciunterparts donot treat us equally - right from t=weird time zones to failing to understand secularistic traditions.