Since the initiation of China's ‘Open Door Policy’ in the late 1970s, the People's Republic of China has been considered a lucrative location for higher education partnerships, and many UK institutions have established collaborative relationships with universities in China. This paper considers the transfer of management knowledge that enables partnerships to function and thrive. In particular, it considers Chinese and UK perceptions of relationships and asks whether the conditions exist for knowledge transfer to be effective. Qualitative research was undertaken in China, Hong Kong and the UK to establish attitudes to interpersonal and interorganizational relationships. The study concludes that knowledge will be most effectively transferred where trust and social capital have been developed and where communication is open and unambiguous. However, the research indicates that there are certain cultural barriers to be overcome before the right conditions for effective knowledge transfer can be developed.
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