The Translator as Agent in Talent Management Knowledge Transfer

Abstract

We investigate the transfer of talent management knowledge into a Slovak manufacturing setting from a translation perspective. The translator is shown to be the key agent in the cross-national, cross-language knowledge transfer process, who not only provides linguistic translation, but also cultural-political interpretation of key vocabularies. By drawing on different approaches to translation we show that a) discourse and language cannot be separated in knowledge transfer interventions and that b) the translator is a key agent in shaping the cross-culture transfer process by addressing the ‘discursive void’ that characterises local experiences with, and knowledge about, talent management. We develop understanding about the role of bilingual, bicultural agents in international knowledge transfer.