Policy diffusion across national boundaries: A case study of South Korea's knowledge cooperation projects.

摘要

This dissertation examines the theoretical aspects of intended knowledge transfers from one country to one or several other countries. To accomplish such objectives, South Korea was selected as a case in point by which to test the proposed twenty theoretical hypotheses. The focus of this study is to ascertain the motivation, barriers and outcomes of knowledge transfer or policy diffusion from one country to another country. Contrary to some assumptions about incentives for conducting a knowledge transference project, this study reveals that the primary driving forces for implementing such programs are the national interests of the donor and recipient countries. There are, however, many barriers to knowledge transference programs. These barriers could be classified as at the national, organizational, and individual levels, or could be interpreted in terms of political, economic, social and cultural aspects.; The overall conclusion for the outcome of the knowledge transference projects is that it is successful. Nevertheless, many factors influenced the effectiveness of the outputs and outcomes of such projects. The greatest problem is the inadequacy of the performance evaluation of these projects. This issue could be attributed to shortages in the budget. In a larger sense, the significance of program evaluation is not highly recognized by participants.; The major research findings are reviewed and tested against the initial twenty hypotheses regarding the source, motivation, channels, barriers and outcomes of the knowledge transference projects, with a particular focus on the outcomes of such activities. The author offers policy recommendations for the improvement of knowledge transfer practices, and recommends future direction for research to build theory and thus contribute to the literature of policy diffusion in particular, and comparative public administration in general.