Trust and repatriate knowledge transfer: Whom do you trust, and how does this trust develop?

This paper reports the results of theory-building qualitative research that aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the role of trust as it affects repatriate knowledge transfer. Data were obtained from 29 semi-structured interviews with German and U.S. repatriates using the critical incident technique. First, repatriates perceived an asymmetry between themselves and knowledge recipients regarding the different importance attached to the underlying dimensions of trustworthiness. Second, the type of knowledge influenced the mode of interaction and the trust development process between repatriates and knowledge recipients. Third, three trusting relationships between repatriates, recipients, and supervisors were detected as relevant for RKT. This study overcomes the simplistic treatment of the trust construct in previous studies on knowledge transfer. In addition, it clarifies the impact of different knowledge types and third actors, namely supervisors on the knowledge transfer process.