Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-8-2014

Publication Title

Journal of Knowledge Management

Volume

18

Issue Number

4

First Page

710

Last Page

727

DOI

10.1108/JKM-11-2013-0448

Keywords

Knowledge transfer, International business, Integration, Multinational companies, Organizational structure

Disciplines

International Business | Organizational Behavior and Theory | Technology and Innovation

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the interaction of formal and informal cross-border knowledge-sharing practices of four large multinational corporations (MNCs) in aerospace, software, IT services and telecommunications industries. The goal was to determine the manner in which coordination and control mechanisms facilitated knowledge transfer.

Design/methodology/approach

Case studies comprised secondary data and semi-structured interviews with corporate headquarters and subsidiary managers in large MNCs conducted in the USA, Canada, Mexico, China, India and Eastern Europe.

Findings

The primary finding of this study is that knowledge transfer mechanisms arise as a result of both formal and informal structures of the MNC. Formal structures which create either mutual dependencies or occasions for knowledge exchange facilitate transfer. Formal structure which inhibits knowledge transfer can be overcome by knowledge brokers and evaluation metrics.

Research limitations/implications

These findings suggest that knowledge transfer is more informal than formal, but that MNC headquarters does play a role, intended or not, through shaping the interdependencies among geographically distributed units. Managers should be mindful of both the manner in which tasks and the organization are structured, as these have an indirect impact on the development of knowledge channels.

Originality/value

This paper investigates the role of organizational structure and its effect, both intended and unintended, on the transfer of knowledge-based practices. While knowledge transfer has been heavily researched, this study examines the phenomenon at a finer-grained level of analysis.

Comments

This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com.

SJSU users: Use the following link to login and access the article via SJSU databases.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Download

Share

COinS