Micro-processes of knowledge sharing in higher education: international students as a source

Yunxin Luo (2023): Micro-processes of knowledge sharing in higher education: international students as a source, Studies in Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2023.2253457

Knowledge sharing is seen as a process involving the donation or collection of knowledge by both the provider and the recipient (Tangaraja et al., 2016). In higher education, knowledge sharing involves faculty and students sharing their knowledge, experiences, insights, and ideas among themselves. International students are fundamental actors in the knowledge sharing process in higher education (Gamlath and Wilson 2022). They play an important role in enabling universities to generate new knowledge and innovation through their contribution to knowledge sharing, intercultural exchange and research (Singh 2009; Pagani et al. 2020; Luo, 2023). Currently, little is known about the knowledge activities of international students and how knowledge sharing processes unfold in higher education. To address these research gaps, this study takes the first step toward delineating the process of knowledge sharing by taking account of international students as knowledge source. This article show how they shape this process to provide more nuanced evidence to discuss the role of international students in knowledge sharing.

Research Method

Based on a qualitative approach, this article studied how the knowledge sharing process in higher education unfolds through the case of Chinese international students in Russian universities. Purposeful sampling techniques were used and a total of twenty-one Chinese students participated in the study. Data for the study came primarily from semi-structured interviews and triangulation of evidence through observation and literature review. In order to elicit specific knowledge-sharing experiences from international students, the critical incident technique was used. Data analysis involves a constant comparison between data and emerging theoretical structures, and a three-step process is used to analyze the data.

Findings

The results of this study, firstly, clarify the knowledge roles of international students. That is, international students are not only knowledge receivers but also knowledge providers. We found that international students are not ‘deficits’, rather they have developed or embedded knowledge and are shaping multicultural exchanges. Secondly, the article sheds light on the micro-processes that take place during knowledge sharing in higher education institutions. The results of this study were synthesized into a proposed model of the knowledge sharing process, describing the activities and four stages associated with knowledge sharing for international students: Prerequisite, Initiation, Unidirectional sharing and Evaluation. We found that international students are influenced by key factors in the knowledge sharing process, and the relative weights of each factor vary across the four stages of knowledge sharing. We also found that knowledge sharing by international students in higher education institutions is a gradual and dynamic process. There may be a shift from one-way providing to two-way exchange during this process.

The result of the current study provides a starting point for subsequent research in knowledge management and higher education. This study elaborated on the processes of knowledge sharing that have not been investigated in previous studies, and the results contribute to understanding the knowledge roles and behaviors of international students. This study provides information on how to provide support at each identified stage to facilitate knowledge sharing by international students. Higher education needs to move away from deficit thinking and adopt a more inclusive and multicultural approach to supporting international students (Nada and Araújo, 2019) to facilitate knowledge sharing among international students and to promote a virtuous cycle of knowledge communication in higher education.

References

Tangaraja, Gangeswari, Roziah Mohd Rasdi, Bahaman Abu Samah, and Maimunah Ismail. 2016. “Knowledge Sharing is Knowledge Transfer: A Misconception in the Literature.” Journal of Knowledge Management 20 (4): 653–70. https:// doi.org/10.1108/JKM-11-2015-0427.

Singh, Michael. 2009. “Using Chinese Knowledge in Internationalising Research Education: Jacques Rancière, an Ignorant Supervisor and Doctoral Students from China.” Globalisation, Societies and Education 7 (2): 185–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767720902908034.

Pagani, Regina Negri, Bruno Ramond, Vander Luiz da Silva, Gilberto Zammar, and João Luiz Kovaleski. 2020. “Key Factors in University-to-University Knowledge and Technology Transfer on International Student Mobility.” Knowledge Management Research & Practice 18 (4): 405–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/14778238.2019.1678415.

Gamlath, Sharmila, and Therese Wilson. 2022. “Dimensions of Student-to-Student Knowledge Sharing in Universities.” Knowledge Management Research & Practice 20 (4): 542–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/14778238.2020.1838961.

Nada, Cosmin I., and Helena C. Araújo. 2019. “‘When You Welcome Students Without Borders, You Need a Mentality Without Borders’ Internationalisation of Higher Education: Evidence from Portugal.” Studies in Higher Education 44 (9): 1591–604. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1458219.

Luo, Yunxin. 2023. “International Student Mobility and its Broad Impact on Destination Countries: A Review and Agenda for Future Research.” Industry and Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/09504222221150766.

Author’s Bio

Yunxin Luo is a PhD candidate in Economic and Management program at the Saint-Petersburg University. She pursued her bachelor’s degree in Management at Henan University (China) and master’s degree in Education at the University of Adelaide (Australia) before attending the Saint-Petersburg University (Russia) to pursue her PhD. Her research is interdisciplinary, and lies at international migration, global mobility, human capital circulation, knowledge management, with the focus on international students and young talents. Her recent publications appear in journals such as Studies in Higher Education, International Journal of Consumer Studies, and Industry and Higher Education.

Email: luoyx627@gmail.com

ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9562-1376

Managing Editor: Tong Meng