Relevance Discovery in the International Knowledge Transfer Process: Knowledge Gatekeepers and Contextual Interpretation

Kuznetsova, O and Kuznetsov, A (2017) Relevance Discovery in the International Knowledge Transfer Process: Knowledge Gatekeepers and Contextual Interpretation. In: AIB-2017 Annual Meeting, 02 July 2017 - 05 July 2017, Dubai, UAE.

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Abstract

The paper explores conceptually the process of relevance discovery prompted by a major alteration in the institutional settings that have caused a radical change in the existing management knowledge paradigm as new mostly “imported” knowledge replaces the “old” knowledge base. This situation puts significant pressure on a particular group of experts designated in the literature as “knowledge gatekeepers”. Their role is particularly important when transferred knowledge requires contextual interpretation in order to be considered useful by other members of the social group. The paper focuses on recontextualisation as a critical element of relevance discovery and the transformation of “imported” knowledge from irrelevant to relevant, and analyses the factors that influence the ability of knowledge gatekeepers to cope with the task of contextualisation. An account of two field studies of post-communist marketisation is used to illustrate the challenges of contextualisation.