Knowledge flows within multinational corporations

TLDR

The study develops and tests a theoretical framework for intracorporate knowledge transfer in multinational corporations, predicting that subsidiary knowledge outflows and inflows depend on knowledge stock, motivational disposition, and transmission channel richness. The framework was empirically evaluated using data from 374 subsidiaries in 75 U.S., European, and Japanese MNCs. Results largely confirm the framework, with the exception that the source unit’s motivational disposition does not significantly affect knowledge outflows. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Pursuing a nodal (i.e., subsidiary) level of analysis, this paper advances and tests an overarching theoretical framework pertaining to intracorporate knowledge transfers within multinational corporations (MNCs). We predicted that (i) knowledge outflows from a subsidiary would be positively associated with value of the subsidiary's knowledge stock, its motivational disposition to share knowledge, and the richness of transmission channels; and (ii) knowledge inflows into a subsidiary would be positively associated with richness of transmission channels, motivational disposition to acquire knowledge, and the capacity to absorb the incoming knowledge. These predictions were tested empirically with data from 374 subsidiaries within 75 MNCs headquartered in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Except for our predictions regarding the impact of source unit's motivational disposition on knowledge outflows, the data provide either full or partial support to all of the other elements of our theoretical framework. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.