**3. Sample and methodology**

Refs. [2, 4], investigation into what constitutes appropriate knowledge management processes within emerging/developing markets remains limited. Many Western-based organisations seeking to enter emerging economies (such as those in South East Asia) have achieved mixed success, which in part has been attributed to the inherent limitations of transferring extant Western-based knowledge management processes to new international contexts (see Refs. [5–7]). Such attempts can be seen in the highly competitive Chinese hotel sector, which has become an important investment platform for leading multinational hotel groups including, but not limited to Marriott International, Accor, Inter-continental and Shangri-La (see Ref. [8]). Despite the heavy investment of these Western hotel groups, their ability to compete effectively in China remains an issue of ongoing concern (see Refs. [8–10]). As a result, Refs. [11–14] have called for a finer-grained understanding of what constitutes 'effective knowledge management' by Western firms in the highly competitive Chinese hotel sector. Focussing on one major Western hotel chain operating in China (i.e. Marriott International), this chapter presents an empirical exploration into the issues inherent to knowledge management processes in the Chinese hospitality industry. In addition, the potential implications identified during this exploration have been used to prepare and present an agenda for future research

240 Knowledge Management Strategies and Applications

into knowledge management practices within the Chinese hospitality industry.

model to guide our data gathering and analysis.

**2. Knowledge management processes and the Chinese hotel industry**

The knowledge management concept has been extolled across multiple disciplines as a control process whereby organisational knowledge is generated, retained and leveraged to enhance competitiveness and organisational growth (see Refs. [11, 15]). Organisational efforts to strategically manage their store of knowledge continue to intensify as the business environment becomes progressively competitive, and new, dynamic markets continue to emerge (see Refs. [14, 16]). The rapid expansion speed of new markets has allowed little time for Western organisations investing in markets such as China to reflect on the applicability of their existing managerial strategies to this emerging-market context (see Ref. [4]). Indeed, current theories related to knowledge management have predominantly been developed in Western markets where business dealings are traditionally transactional based; to date, little consideration has been given to the generalisability of these theories to Western organisations operating in emerging Asian economies where relational based business dealings are the norm (see Refs. [2, 4, 17, 18]). In order to improve our understanding of what constitutes effective knowledge management for Western organisations seeking to enter and compete in the Chinese hotel sector, we felt it appropriate to adopt a knowledge management process

For this study, the Knowledge Management Cycle (KMC) model has been chosen; the KMC consists of seven phases: identify and/or create; store; share; use; learn; improve; and create 'organisational knowledge' (see Ref. [1]). If a request for new knowledge is triggered within an organisation, the first stage is to identify if existing codified and encapsulated knowledge assets and subjectively held tacit knowledge exist, or if new knowledge assets need to be created. The KMC model, therefore, suggests that managing the knowledge process is

In order to explore the knowledge management process in the Chinese hotel industry context, the case study method was adopted. This method allowed the researchers to explore an existing theoretical concept (knowledge management) in a new context (a Western organisation operating in the Chinese hospitality industry) and to refine and elucidate previously unidentified issues. To achieve this, the authors conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with senior managers in the Marriott Group's Chinese operation. The choice of Marriott was driven by three factors; the first being that it presents a revelatory case, whereby senior management can deliberate those aspects of knowledge management critical to the strategic management of its business. Secondly, Marriott represents a renowned global organisation seeking to leverage its brand into the expanding Chinese market. Finally, the researchers were able to secure access to the organisation's senior management team through a key informant, who is recognised in the industry as one of the longest serving General Managers in China. In total, twelve Marriott senior managers were recruited to provide primary data relating to the organisation's knowledge management processes in the Chinese hospitality industry. Of the twelve senior managers: three were General Managers, three were Marketing Directors (that had been working with Marriott since its entry into China in the mid-1990s), three were Human Resource Directors and three were Sales Directors.

A longitudinal approach to primary data collection was adopted whereby each respondent was interviewed four times, over a period of 4 years (i.e. 2009–2012). Given the complexity of the phenomenon, this approach was adopted for two reasons: firstly, it gave respondents the time needed to reflect on knowledge management issues idiosyncratic to the Chinese hospitality industry. Secondly, it gave the authors' time to probe evidence gathered from other sources and focus interviews on factors identified as specific to knowledge management processes in the Chinese context. The semi-structured interview questions were formulated to cover the necessary knowledge management issues, yet framed in an open-ended manner. This design provided respondents with ample scope for introspection, and the freedom to pursue and openly report on matters they considered important. In total, 46 semi-structured interviews were conducted over the 4 years, each with a duration of 60–120 min. Secondary data were sourced from historical publications pertaining to China's economic and hospitality industry development, annual reports of the Marriott group, local and international newspaper archives, and Chinese government agency publications. This collection of data from various sources provided triangulation and subsequently assisted in the aggregation, analysis, and validation of information.

A rigorous content analysis process using the five-stage protocol forwarded by Refs. [24–26] was applied to each interview transcript and all secondary data. The content analysis and the verification of the conclusions drawn were facilitated by the use of the NVIVO software package. During Stage One of the content analysis, the aims and objectives of the research were identified. During Stage Two, the interview transcripts and secondary data were converted into MS Word® format and entered into a codified NVIVO database. Stage Three comprised an interrogation of the coded data to detect any significant themes emerging with regard to knowledge management issues in Marriott's strategic management of operations in China. These emergent trends and themes provided the basis for the second round of data coding categories. Stage Four of the content analysis involved a refinement of the second-round coding results, while Stage Five involved finalisation of the research findings. These findings are discussed in the following sections, along with implications for future research in the crosscultural knowledge management field.
