Unfortunately, most of the prominent studies that have considered the role of national culture in knowledge creation and management have used corporate or organizational culture interchangeably with national culture.
That shortcut matters. National culture shapes how people communicate, how they view hierarchy and how willing they are to share what they know. Company culture sits on top of those deeper patterns. When the two are treated as the same thing, leaders can miss why a knowledge-sharing initiative works in one office and stalls in another.
Why it matters for your business
For organizations with diverse teams or operations across borders, understanding both layers of culture is key to designing training, collaboration and innovation programs that truly land.