The Influence of National Culture on Knowledge Transfer within the Middle East Management Training Sector

The Gulf region has enjoyed near instant wealth thanks to natural resources but remains reliant on foreign workers to impart the knowledge required to generate endogenous talent. Despite efforts by the United Arab Emirate (UAE) government to absorb this knowledge and develop Emirate talent, the reliance on foreign workers is as prevalent today as at any time over the last forty years. The UAE has excelled at attracting international talent but has failed to utilise the available knowledge for their talent development. For managers in the region, this knowledge is often transferred through management training, and management training is a significant part of Human Resource activity. However, this often fails for many reasons, not least, the cultural differences that exist between the knowledge supplier and the knowledge recipient. Local managers lack a suitable model that could where the knowledge transformation is breaking down and what elements of national culture influence this knowledge transformation process. Research has shown that there is a link between national culture and knowledge transfer. Building on existing work, this research explored the impact that national culture has on the transfer of knowledge within the management training context. While there is extensive information covering national culture and knowledge transfer within the management training context within the Gulf region, particularly the UAE. Consequently, this research will go some way to addressing these theoretical gaps in the literature. The theoretical framework developed to facilitate the research process provides the basis for a model that learners, trainers and training managers can use to help design, needs analysis and gauge training suitability. This model, and the research findings, will add significant practical advice at all levels and will enhance training quality, increase inclusivity, and could influence knowledge transference between international talent and local talent within the Gulf region.