Trust, Knowledge Sharing and Innovation: A Cross-cultural Perspective on Sino-German Collaboration

本项目是面对中德企业合作的现实而提出的。德国在中国的投资规模很大，而且仍在增加，而中国企业也开始进入德国市场。我们的总体目标是为如何在中德联盟中促进人际合作，从而提高绩效和创新水平提供科学指导。在此过程中，该项目的中国研究团队专注于中德知识共享，德国团队研究中德联盟中的信任/不信任机制。我们认为，在中德合作过程中，基于人际信任的有效知识共享将带来更高的绩效和创新。由中国团队领导的知识共享研究将从检查知识共享的文化前因开始。本系列研究遵循社会交换和经济交换的双重框架，主要包括：1）中德知识共享研究的文献综述; 2）中德知识共享动机机制的跨文化比较研究; 3）中德合作团队知识共享的跨文化研究。将在中国和德国进行深入访谈和调查的形式进行实证研究。由德国团队领导的信任/不信任研究将首先分析德国和中国信任和不信任概念的文化差异（认为这是不同的概念），依靠定性方法。通过比较这些概念，我们将指出信任和不信任的客位和主位方面。此外，我们将进行跨文化研究，以实证验证信任和不信任的措施，以确定信任和不信任的前因以及调节条件。在第三步中，我们将进行跨文化研究，分析信任/不信任概念的差异如何影响中德团队中的知识共享。在这个合作项目中，中国团队和德国团队共同努力，探索中德联盟中更高水平绩效和创新的驱动因素。由于研究重点不同，但相关，该项目预计将带来协同效应。1)补充理论建设。每一方都将提供其他合作伙伴在当地研究竞技场的研究结果，这是任何跨文化研究不可或缺的因素。2)位于中国和德国的两个团队为跨文化方法收集数据提供了可能。3)信任、知识共享和创新是理论上相关的概念。该项目的部分成果将是一个联合研究模式，整合了中国和德国团队的研究兴趣。总之，这个中德合作项目将在信任、知识共享、创新和跨文化研究等领域做出贡献。

This project is proposed in face of the relevance of Sino-German business collaboration. German investments in China are profound and still increasing, while Chinese firms have started to enter the German market. Our general aim is to provide scientific guidance for how to foster interpersonal collaboration and thus high-level performance and innovation in Sino-German alliances. In doing so, the Chinese research team in this project focuses on Sino-German knowledge sharing and the German team examines the trust/distrust mechanisms in Sino-German alliances. We posit that effective knowledge sharing based on interpersonal trust will lead to increased performance and innovation in the process of Sino-German collaboration. Knowledge sharing studies led by the Chinese team will start with an examination of the cultural antecedents of knowledge sharing. Following a dual social exchange and economic exchange framework, this series of studies is composed of 1) literature review with special focus on Chinese and German studies, 2) a cross-cultural study comparing Chinese and German motivation mechanisms of knowledge sharing, and 3) an inter-cultural study underpinning knowledge sharing within Sino-German collaborative teams. There will be empirical studies in forms of in-depth interviews and surveys conducted in China and Germany. Trust/distrust studies led by the German team will first analyze cultural differences in the German and Chinese concept of trust and of distrust (arguing that these are distinct concepts), relying on a qualitative approach. Comparing the concepts, we will point to etic and to emic aspects of trust and distrust. Furthermore, we will conduct a crosscultural study to empirically validate trust and distrust measures, to identify antecedents of trust and distrust as well as moderating conditions. In the third step, we will conduct an inter-cultural study to analyze how dissimilarities in the trust/ distrust concept influence knowledge sharing in Sino-Germans teams. In this collaborative project, the Chinese team and the German team jointly work to explore drivers of higher level performance and innovation in Sino-German alliances. With different but related research focuses, this project is expected to bring about synergy effects. 1）Complementary theory building. Each side will provide the other partner findings from the local research arena, which is an indispensable element of any cross-cultural study. 2) The two teams located in China and German make it possible to collect data for the cross-cultural approaches. 3) Trust, knowledge sharing and innovation are theoretically related constructs. Part of the outcomes of this project will be a joint research model integrating research interests from both the Chinese and German teams. Altogether this Sino-German collaborative project will generate contributions in the fields of trust, knowledge sharing, innovation and cross-cultural study.