This chapter sums up and discusses the PLS findings for this study.
Recommendations are also proposed.
Research Conclusions
The goal of this study was to explore the relationships between universities’ culture, knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and commitment among international students in Taiwan. A CSCC model was developed in order to fulfill the purposes of this study.
First, the study finds that universities’ culture have significant effects on knowledge sharing. Specifically, cultural strength is the most important factor influencing international students’ willingness to share knowledge with their peers, followed by a culture of coordinated teamwork. How strong and well defined the values shared by the members in the university are, is very important and determinant for students to share knowledge. In other words, it is ineffective for students when everyone thinks it’s all right to do their own thing. Since workplaces and the world are becoming more and more complex, more effective ways of meeting coordination demands are needed. Likewise, it is important to find ways for the members of an organization to define and support the values and beliefs of the organization, as well as achieving effective coordination, collaborative feelings, and a sense of working together towards common goals. On the other hand, the achievement of goals has less impact on the students’ willingness to share knowledge. Universities’ and schools need to ensure that they create an environment of
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coordinated team work where students can work together in harmony so that the students are prepared for the changes that they or the institution might face. This will facilitate the knowledge sharing in learning institutions.
Second, this study also investigated the effects knowledge sharing have on knowledge creation. In organizations, knowledge sharing has great impact on knowledge creation processes. This study showed that the same effect occurred in universities, with cooperation among peers being the most influential aspect of knowledge creation. A cooperative culture is very important for students to share their knowledge and achieve common goals. Professors and staff in the university should focus on fostering a culture of cooperation between their students, since this is also key to success in organizations.
Asking questions has a lower impact on knowledge sharing, so rewarding and promoting cooperation between peers will foster knowledge creation in the institution the most.
Third, knowledge creation has a positive effect on the commitment of international students to their learning institution in Taiwan, being commitment the most influential factor in determining the quality of students’ performance. The transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge is the most influential factor determining commitment. On the other hand, affective commitment and continuance commitment are similarly strong, while normative commitment does not have the same effect on commitment.
Universities’ staff and professors should pay more attention to all the factors mentioned above and focus on building a strong culture of coordinated team work and cooperation to motivate knowledge sharing and the transformation of tacit knowledge
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into explicit knowledge, and to foster knowledge creation among international students in Taiwan. All these factors are highly influential with regards to the commitment.
Research Recommendations
In order to foster and promote cooperation among the students and members of the university, administrative staff and professors are advised to create an environment that can discourage competitiveness and individualism. Professors should be an example to follow for students, since students tend to look up on them, and they should promote the values and beliefs of the learning institution by adopting the values of the organization themselves. The values in the university should be clear for students, professors and staff.
This environment should focus in encouraging cooperation not only between students but also between staff and professors. The universities should align the culture of the university with the values of this. It is paramount that the authorities as well as professors, and staff take enough time to build a culture that is coherent with the values and beliefs of the university.
Collaboration should be promoted from the beginning, and should be rewarded over competitiveness and individualism. Since collaboration is one of the most important factors of knowledge sharing that influences knowledge creation in students it should be a focus of concern to professor and staff. Those students who show themselves willing to collaborate with other should be rewarded as frequently as possible. Recognition doesn’t have to come precisely from the professors or authorities in the university, it can also come from peers.
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Innovation should be well rewarded to those students who come up with new ideas that help improving not only their performance but also the performance of the university or program. Rewards can come in different ways such as monetary rewards, to promote students innovation and creativity or non-monetary to recognize student’s efforts for creating new knowledge that can be re used by others in the university. In order to promote knowledge creation in students it is also recommended that teachers adopt a student-centered approach when teaching, meaning this that teachers should have an orientation to students and use techniques that facilitate students in exploring and deepening knowledge as well as creating or building knowledge among students. The learning experience should be transformed from a passive and individualized knowledge growth to one that highlights more active, reflective and collaborative knowledge exploration.
Recommendations for Further Research
Some recommendations and suggestions for future researchers and university staff are:
First, since this study was made exclusively with international students in Taiwan, further research should be considered with local students, or international students from other lower-level educational areas such as high school students or vocational schools.
Second, other research methods can also be considered to explore different areas of this topic, most notably qualitative methods.
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Third, comparisons and contrasts with other studies and other educational areas can also be conducted. Examples include: comparisons between high school and university student, or comparisons between public and private schools.
Fourth, we recommend that professors and university staff create environments for students that support values and beliefs for effective coordination and collaboration, organizing their members to adjust their actions taking into consideration unplanned and unpredicted circumstances.
Fifth, this study can also be replicated in teachers to analyze their concepts, ideas and beliefs about knowledge sharing and knowledge creation. This is because teachers are considered the new knowledge builders in this era, and it is therefore crucial that they understand the impact of their knowledge building capacities on students.
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APENDIX A COVER LETTER
Dear Ms/Mr.
My name is Axana and I am a student at the International Institute of Human Resources Development at National Taiwan Normal University. I am conducting a study about the effect of university's culture, knowledge sharing and knowledge creation and
commitment on international students’ in Taiwan. I invite you to be a part of the study
“The Effect of Organizational Culture, Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Creation and Commitment in International Student’s in Taiwan”. To participate, you must be a non-Taiwanese currently studying in Taiwan. Your contribution to the study will be of vast importance in helping to propose new strategies that could help to enhance international student’s performance in Taiwan. The completion of the survey will take around 10-15 min. Please find the link to the survey below.
Thank you.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1kJCytMxjHAUmClS9spW4YjAO6B_MIrWKvvvIQ PnYt-Q/viewform
Best,
Axana Vasquez
Master student, International Human Resources Development National Taiwan Normal University
Advisor: Cheng-Ping Shih PhD
P.D: Please help me to forward this questionnaire to your friends and other international students in Taiwan. Your help is highly appreciated.
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APENDIX B QUESTIONNAIRE
SECTION I INTRODUCTION
Dear Ms./Mr.
I whole-heartedly appreciate your participation in the “The effect of University's culture, knowledge sharing and knowledge creation and commitment study. Your answers are valuable input in our analysis of how university's culture influences knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and student's commitment in universities. This study aims to provide insight into the factors that impact international student's performance and will lead to recommendations on how to create good strategies to help improve knowledge creation and student's performance.
The completion of this questionnaire will take about 10-15 minutes. Your answers are voluntary and confidential and the answers from all respondents will be aggregated so that answers cannot be identified by individual. The results will be used for academic purposes only.
In the following you will find a set of questions about your school and working environment. I kindly ask you to answer all questions as honestly as possible.
Thank you, Axana Vasquez
Master Student International Institute of Human Resource Development National Taiwan Normal University
Advisor: Cheng-Ping Shih, Ph.D.
If you have any questions or concerns about the research or this questionnaire, please write me at 60386016i@ntnu.edu.tw
85 SECTION II
Nº The following sentences describe situations that occur in the academic context. Please indicate your degree of agreement/disagreement by selecting one option from the list provided.
TOTALLY DISAGREE DISAGREE NEUTRAL AGREE TOTALLY AGREE
1 In my university/program my classmates, professors and staff are flexible and adaptable when changes are
necessary.
1 2 3 4 5
2 In my university/program individuals and teams have clearly defined goals that relate to the goals of the program.
1 2 3 4 5
3 In my university/program people value and make use of one another's unique strengths and different abilities.
1 2 3 4 5
4 In my university/program people believe in teamwork, the "what's in it for us" approach rather than "what's in it for me."
1 2 3 4 5
5 In my university/program everyone knows and understands our academic objectives and priorities.
1 2 3 4 5
6 In my university/program people have a clear idea of why and how to proceed throughout the process of change.
1 2 3 4 5
7 In my university/program individuals and teams are measured and rewarded according to how well goals are achieved.
1 2 3 4 5
8 In my university/program people know what is expected of them and understand their impact on other people, teams and functions.
1 2 3 4 5
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9 In my university/program academic decisions are most often made on the basis of facts, not just perceptions or assumptions.
1 2 3 4 5
10 In my university/program we constantly stretch our goals to continuously improve.
1 2 3 4 5
11 In my university/program people believe in working together collaboratively, preferring cooperation over competition.
1 2 3 4 5
12 In my university/program people have access to timely and accurate information about what's happening in the institution and why.
1 2 3 4 5
13 In my university/program people believe that their concerns and anxieties during periods of change are heard and taken into consideration.
1 2 3 4 5
14 In my university/program everyone strongly believes in a set of shared values about how people should work together to solve common problems and reach mutual objectives.
1 2 3 4 5
SECTION III
Nº The following sentences describe how you feel between the members of your academic institution. Please indicate your degree of agreement/disagreement by selecting one of the options
TOTALLY DISAGREE DISAGREE NEUTRAL AGREE TOTALLY AGREE
15 In my university/program, whenever people state their views they ask what others think.
1 2 3 4 5
16 I believe people in my university/program (classmates, professors and staff) are honest and reliable.
1 2 3 4 5
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17 People in my university/program (classmates, professors and staff) cooperate well with each other.
1 2 3 4 5
18 I believe that most of my classmates will not intentionally carry out actions that could harm other members.
1 2 3 4 5
19 Classmates in my program/department are helpful. 1 2 3 4 5 20 I believe classmates, professors and staff in my
university/program are knowledgeable and competent in their area.
1 2 3 4 5
21 I think that most of my classmates will take into account the repercussions that their actions could have on the other members.
1 2 3 4 5
22 In my university/program, people give open and honest feedback to each other.
1 2 3 4 5
23 I think that most of my classmates are concerned about the needs and interests of the other classmates.
1 2 3 4 5
24 People I work with in my university/program care for each other.
1 2 3 4 5
25 Classmates, professors and staff in my department prefer to create their own knowledge rather than reusing others.
1 2 3 4 5
26 People I work with function as a team. 1 2 3 4 5
27 I believe that my classmates in my university treat others reciprocally.
1 2 3 4 5
28 Classmates, professor and staff in my department perceive each other as competitive.
1 2 3 4 5
29 People I work with in my program are cooperative and coordinative.
1 2 3 4 5
30 Classmates in my program/department are supportive. 1 2 3 4 5 31 In my university/program, people spend time building
trust with each other.
1 2 3 4 5
88 SECTION IV
88 SECTION IV