Knowledge Transfer and NOn-Governmental Organizations in Cambodia

Abstract

In spite of the popularity of knowledge transfer amongst academicians and practitioners, little research has been done in relation to non-profit organizations (Lettieri, Borga, & Savildelli, 2004) and even less in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in many developing countries (Syed-Ikhasan & Rowland, 2004). The NGOs in Cambodia act as a very important catalyst for the development of the country and they are largely operated by expatriates from western countries. This study explored how knowledge was transferred from expatriates to local staffs, from one department to another and from the top management to lower management. Two NGOs in Cambodia were selected as case studies of which in-depth interviews were conducted in March 2007 because both of them were founded more than 10 years and they could successfully convince the donors to release the fund by using the tacit and explicit knowledge to develop a good funding proposal. It revealed that knowledge transfer is a new concept and not yet seen as vital for the organizations. The current setback is that the staff turnover is disrupting the organizational operation principally because knowledge management was not yet established. This study provides an exploratory study of where sharing and/or transferring of knowledge lies within the operation of NGOs with avenues for further research suggested.

Keywords: knowledge transfer, non-governmental organizations, Cambodia knowledge transfer, non-governmental organizations in Cambodia