Cultural compatibility in internal knowledge transfers: an application to hotel chain growth

Abstract

This work addresses the internal transfer of knowledge from a cultural perspective when hotel chains grow. The analysis begins with an approach to the intra-organisational transfer of knowledge in hotel chain expansion. Later, culture in organisations is addressed; this gives rise to the proposal of cultural compatibility as a determinant of the intra-firm transfer of knowledge. Moreover, reference is made to possible sources of cultural incompatibility: location abroad of the new hotel, conversions where most employees stay, and small size of the new hotel. The hypotheses are tested in the Spanish hotel context. The results show effects and causes of the compatibility between the cultural context in which the knowledge to be transferred originated and the cultural framework in which it is to be implemented.