Managing cultural diversity and the process of knowledge sharing: A case from Denmark

SummaryIdeas of linking cultural diversity and knowledge resources have recently gained momentum in organizational literature, however, little is known about actual knowledge-sharing processes in culturally diverse organizations. This paper contributes to mending such limitations by first reviewing three dominant perspectives in the literature relevant to understanding these processes. It is then argued that these perspectives contribute focusing on different aspects of human diversity in organizations and, therefore, that they should not be separated in the analysis of the complex settings that culturally diverse organizations represent. This is illustrated with data from an ethnographic fieldwork in a Danish multicultural organization. The final section reflects on implications of using a combination of different theories in analyzing the results, and suggests other possibilities for future research.