(815)THE INFLUENCES OF CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES CHOICE ON INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT STUDENTS' COLLABORATIVE KNOWLEDGE CREATION: TURKEY AND ECUADOR

摘要

The paper presents the first phase of international (three countries)study that explores the influenceof social capital and personal learning networks (PLN)development approaches used by internationalmanagement students in multicultural learning environments and the types of social and academicnetworks they develop on their collaborative knowledge and cross-cultural competence development,in particular, on their preparation for international careers. A comparative analysis is conducted withinthree international programs (in Turkey, Ecuador and UK)that offer international education in Englishlanguage for local and international students. The paper presents the preliminary results of acomparison in two locations - Turkey and Ecuador. The study applies the concepts of collaborativeknowledge development, social capital and social networks. The study uses constructivist groundedtheory [1] to uncover the process of social capital and collaborative knowledge creation. Based on thedata, collected through semi-structured interviews, and analyzed through d?mens?onal analysis [2];;[3],the study develops a process model, which takes into account the core social identity of the learner,as well as the existing and emergent social personal learning ties, built on social capital. An additionalgoal of the study is to uncover the overlapping social and personal learning networks international andlocal students participate in and develop, to trace the knowledge sharing routes and to pinpointknowledge creation hubs in these networks. As the result of the study, recommendations aredeveloped for higher educational institutions (HEIs)and multinational enterprises (MNEs)regardingthe steps they can take to promote collaborative and cross-cultural knowledge creation among theirmembers. The connectivism theory of social learning [4] suggests loose and pragmatic tiesappropriate to knowledge sharing and creation in the interconnected networked social reality of the21st century as they combine social and informational resources that operate in a chaotic environmentand recognize rather than create patterns of meaning. While we are not proposing any final theoreticalmodels at this point, it is likely that the learners who are engaged in multi-dimensional and looselyconnected PLNs characterized by multiple networks consisted of weak ties and who utilize problemsolving models of knowledge creation are more likely to become cross/interculturally competent andare more likely to be prepared for global careers. However, the preliminary findings show thatinternational students lack the skills and desire to create functional PLNs and tend to engage inmultiple binding networks characterized by strong emotional bonds but limited knowledge creation.While is it premature at this stage to suggest any specific steps that IHEIs and other multiculturallearning environments might take to encourage social and technological networking amonginternational students and other members of academic environment, some tentative recommendationsare presented.