본문 바로가기
KERD
논문KCI 등재

A Study on Intra-organizational Knowledge Flows and Absorptive Capacity between MNEs’ Headquarter and Subsidiary

박지훈
한국국제통상학회 (The Korean Association of Trade and Industry Studies)|2011.06|국제통상연구 (Journal of International Trade and Industry Studies)|제16권 제2호|pp. 27-55

0

조회

0

다운로드

8

인용

0

참고문헌

키워드

다국적기업흡수역량Absorptive capacityKnowledge transferBusiness know-howKorean MNEs비즈니스노하우
주제분류무역학

초록

Although there has been much research on knowledge management and knowledge transfer, most literatures have been focused on issues related to the knowledge transfer process between partners within the context of strategic alliance or joint venture, but issue within an intra-MNE knowledge transfer has respectively received little attention Furthermore previous studies related to type of knowledge have been dominated by research on R&D, new product development (NPD), and marketing, but rarely on issues related to business know-how. This study empirically tried to find the issue as to what factors facilitate effectiveness of knowledge transfer to subsidiary. In order to address these research questions, this study explores both theoretically and empirically determinants of cross-border knowledge transfer from Korean multinational enterprises' parent to subsidiaries in a variety of foreign markets. Moreover, this study additionally explored the phenomena that a moderating effect between the levels of high and low of absorptive capabilities subsidiaries have in foreign markets. Based on a survey of the Korean subsidiaries located in overseas, cultural distance and psychic distance between headquarters and its subsidiaries evidently decrease the transferability of business know-how. In addition, the extent of autonomy of subsidiary significantly affects effectiveness of transfer of business know-how with a negative sign. On the other hand, a higher transferability of business know-how to subsidiaries occurs when the degree of organizational learning culture, commitment, and prior experience of the headquarters are higher. This study also sequentially verified that moderating effect of absorptive capabilities. As a result, this study demonstrated subsidiaries must have the capabilities to absorb inputs in order to generate output and without such a capacity, they cannot absorb, interpret, understand, and utilize the transferred knowledge of business know-how from headquarters.

Abstract

Although there has been much research on knowledge management and knowledge transfer, most literatures have been focused on issues related to the knowledge transfer process between partners within the context of strategic alliance or joint venture, but issue within an intra-MNE knowledge transfer has respectively received little attention Furthermore previous studies related to type of knowledge have been dominated by research on R&D, new product development (NPD), and marketing, but rarely on issues related to business know-how. This study empirically tried to find the issue as to what factors facilitate effectiveness of knowledge transfer to subsidiary. In order to address these research questions, this study explores both theoretically and empirically determinants of cross-border knowledge transfer from Korean multinational enterprises' parent to subsidiaries in a variety of foreign markets. Moreover, this study additionally explored the phenomena that a moderating effect between the levels of high and low of absorptive capabilities subsidiaries have in foreign markets. Based on a survey of the Korean subsidiaries located in overseas, cultural distance and psychic distance between headquarters and its subsidiaries evidently decrease the transferability of business know-how. In addition, the extent of autonomy of subsidiary significantly affects effectiveness of transfer of business know-how with a negative sign. On the other hand, a higher transferability of business know-how to subsidiaries occurs when the degree of organizational learning culture, commitment, and prior experience of the headquarters are higher. This study also sequentially verified that moderating effect of absorptive capabilities. As a result, this study demonstrated subsidiaries must have the capabilities to absorb inputs in order to generate output and without such a capacity, they cannot absorb, interpret, understand, and utilize the transferred knowledge of business know-how from headquarters.

참고문헌 (62)

  1. Bartlett,C.A, "Transnational Management:Text,Cases,and Reading in Cross-Border Management" (1997), Irwin
  2. Birkinshaw,J.N.Hood, "Building firm-specific advantages in multinational corporations:the role of subsidiary initiative", Strategic Management Journal, 19, pp.221~241 (1998)
  3. BjÖrkman,I, "Managing knowledge transfer in MNEs:the impact of headquarters control mechanism", Journal of International Business Studies, 35(5), pp.443~455 (2004)
  4. BjÖrkman,I, "Cultural differences and capability transfer in cross-border acquisitions:the mediating roles of capability complementarity,absorptive capacity,and social integration", Journal of International Business Studies, 38(4), pp.658~673 (2007)
  5. Buckley,P.J, "The Future of The Multinational Enterprise" (1976), Holmes and Meier
  6. Buckley,P.J, "Managing cross-border complementary knowledge", International Studies of Management & Organization, 29(1), pp.80~104 (1999)
  7. Butler,J.K, "Trust expectations,information sharing,climate of trust,and negotiation effectiveness and efficiency", Group & Management, 24(2), pp.217~238 (1999)
  8. Knowledge sharing in organizations:a field study, "Chakravarthy,B", Strategic Management Research Center, University of Minnesota, ~ (1999)
  9. Cohen,W, "Absorptive capacity:a new perspective on learning and innovation", Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), pp.128~152 (1990)
  10. Coleman,J.S, "Foundation of Social Theory" (1990), Belknap Press
  11. Conner,K.R, "A resource-based theory of the firm:knowledge versus opportunism", Organization Science, 7(5), pp.477~501 (1996)
  12. Crossan,M.M, "Promise and reality of learning through alliance", The International Executive, 36, pp.263~273 (1994)
  13. Cui,A.S, "The influence of competitive intensity and market dynamism on knowledge management capabilities of multinational corporation subsidiaries", Journal of International Marketing, 13(3), pp.22~32 (2005)
  14. Dhanaraj,C, "Managing tacit and explicit knowledge transfer in IJVs:the role of relational embeddedness and the impact on performance", Journal of International Business Studies, 35(5), pp.428~442 (2004)
  15. Dodgeson,M, "Learning,trust and inter-firm technological linkages:Some theoretical associations,In Technological Collaboration", pp.54~75 (1996), Edward Elgar
  16. Egelhoff,W.G, "Organizing the Multinational Enterprise: An Information-Processing Perspective" (1988), Ballinger
  17. Foss,N.J, "An exploration of common ground: integrating evolutionary and strategic theories of the firm, In Resource-Based and Evolutionary Theories of the Firm", pp.1~17 (1995), Kluwer
  18. Foss,N.J, "Transferring knowledge in MNEs:The role of sources of subsidiary knowledge and organizational context", Journal of International Management, 8, pp.49~67 (2002)
  19. Ghoshal,S, "Interunit communication in multinational corporations", Management Science, 40(1), pp.96~110 (1994)
  20. Gold,A, "Knowledge management:an organizational capabilities perspective", Journal of Management Information Systems, 18, pp.185~214 (2001)
  21. Grant R.M, "Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm", Strategic Management Journal, 17, pp.109~122 (1996)
  22. Gupta,A.K, "Knowledge flows and the structure of control within multinational firms", Academy of Management Review, 16(4), pp.768~792 (1991)
  23. Gupta,A.K, "Knowledge flows within multinational corporations", Strategic Management Journal, 21(4), pp.473~496 (2000)
  24. Hamel,G, "collaborate with your competitors and win", Harvard Business Review, 67(2), pp.133~139 (1989)
  25. Hansen,M.T, "The search-transfer problem:the role of weak ties in sharing knowledge across organizational subunits", Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(1), pp.82~111 (1999)
  26. Inkpen,A.C, "Learning through Joint venture:a framework of knowledge acquisition", Journal of Management Studies, 37(7), pp.1019~1043 (2000)
  27. Inkpen,A.C, "Knowledge management processes and international joint ventures", Organization Science, 9(4), pp.454~468 (1998)
  28. Inkpen,A.C, "Knowledge,bargaining power,and the instability of international joint ventures", Academy of Management Review, 22(1), pp.177~202 (1997)
  29. Javalgi,R.G, "Sustainable competitive advantage of internet firms:a strategic framework and implications for global marketers", International Marketing Review, 22(6), pp.658~673 (2005)
  30. Jody Evans, "Psychic distance and organizational performance:An empirical examination of international retailing operations", Journal of International Business Studies, 33(3), pp.515~533 (2002)
  31. John C, "Psychic Distance,its Impact and Coping Modes Interpretations of SME Decision Makers", Management International Review, 49(2), pp.199~225 (2009)
  32. Kogut,B, "The effect of national culture on the choice of entry mode", Journal of International Business Studies, 19(3), pp.411~432 (1988)
  33. Kogut,B, "Knowledge of the firm and the evolutionary theory of the multinational corporation", Journal of International Business Studies, 24(4), pp.625~645 (1993)
  34. Lane,P.J, "Absorptive capacity,learning,and performance in international joint ventures", Strategic Management Journal, 22(12), pp.1139~1161 (2001)
  35. 이장로, "중국시장에 진출한 한국 다국적기업의 마케팅 지식이전 결정요인에 관한 실증연구", 국제경영연구, 17(3), pp.25~58 (2006), 한국국제경영학회
  36. Lyles,Marjorie A, "Knowledge acquisition from foreign parents in international joint ventures:an empirical examination in the hungarian context", Journal of International Business Studies, 27(5), pp.877~903 (1996)
  37. Lyles,Marjorie A, "Managing for autonomy in joint venture:a longitudinal study of upward influence", Journal of Management Studies, 30(3), pp.383~404 (1993)
  38. Marks,M.J, "A temporally based framework and taxonomy of team processes", Academy of Management Review, 26(3), pp.356~376 (2001)
  39. Martin,X, "Knowledge transfer capacity and its implications for the theory of the multinational corporation", Journal of International Business Studies, 34(4), pp.356~373 (2003)
  40. Mayer,R.C, "An integrative model of organizational trust", Academy of Management Review, 20(3), pp.709~734 (1995)
  41. Minbaeva,D, "MNE knowledge transfer,subsidiary absorptive capacity,and HRM", Journal of International Business Studies, 34(6), pp.586~599 (2003)
  42. Mosakowski,E, "Strategy making under causal ambiguity:conceptual issues and empirical evidence", Organizational Science, 8(4), pp.414~442 (1997)
  43. Murray,J.Y, "A cross-team framework of international knowledge acquisition on new product development capabilities and new product market performance", Journal of International Marketing, 13(3), pp.25~54 (2005)
  44. Mudambi,R, "Is knowledge power? knowledge flows,subsidiary power and rent-seeking within MNEs", Journal of International Business Studies, 35(5), pp.385~406 (2004)
  45. Nonaka,I, "A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation", Organization Science, 5(1), pp.14~37 (1994)
  46. Nonaka,I, "The Knowledge-creating Company" (1995), Oxford University Press
  47. Nohria,N, "Differentiated fit and shared values:alternatives for managing headquarters-subsidiary relations", Strategic Management Journal, 15(6), pp.491~502 (1994)
  48. Nunnally,J.C, "Psychometric Theory,2nd ed" (1978), McGraw-Hill
  49. Pak Y.S, "A framework of knowledge transfer in cross-border joint ventures: an empirical test of the Korean context", Management International Review, 44(4), pp.417~434 (2004)
  50. Pedersen,T, "Knowledge transfer performance of multinational companies", Management International Review, 43(4), pp.1~23 (2003)
  51. Peter,J.B, "A formal analysis of knowledge combination in multinational enterprise", Journal of International Business Studies, 35(5), pp.371~384 (2004)
  52. Peter,J.L, "Absorptive capacity,learning,and performance in International Joint Ventures", Strategic Management Journal, 22(12), pp.1139~1161 (2001)
  53. Reed,H, "Causal ambiguity,barriers to imitation,and sustainable comparative advantage", Academy of Management Review, 15(1), pp.88~102 (1990)
  54. Schlegelmilch,B.B, "Knowledge transfer between marketing functions in multinational companies:a conceptual model", International Business Review, 12, pp.215~232 (2003)
  55. Simonin,B.L, "Transfer of marketing know-how in international strategic alliances:an empirical investigation of the role and antecedents of knowledge ambiguity", Journal of International Business Studies, 30(3), pp.463~490 (1999)
  56. Simonin,B.L, "Ambiguity and the process of knowledge transfer in strategic alliances", Strategic Management Journal, 20(7), pp.595~623 (1999)
  57. Spector,P, "Summated Rating Scale Construction" (1992), Sage Publications, Inc
  58. Szulanski,G, "Exploring internal stickness:impediments to The Transfer of Best Practice within The Firm", Strategic Management Journal, 17, pp.27~43 (1996)
  59. Teigland,R, "Knowledge dissemination in global R&D operations:an empirical study of multinationals in the high technology electronics industry", Management International Review, 40(1), pp.49~77 (2000)
  60. Tracy, "Applying trained skills on the job:the importance of the work environment", Journal of Applied Psychology, 80(2), pp.239~252 (1995)
  61. Tsai,W, "Knowledge Transfer in Intraorganizational Networks: Effects of Network Position and Absorptive Capacity on Business Unit Innovation and Performance", Academy of Management Journal, 44(5), pp.996~1004 (2001)
  62. Zander,U, "Knowledge and the speed of the transfer and imitation of organizational capabilities:an empirical test", Organization Science, 6(1), pp.76~92 (1995)

관련 논문AI추천

The Mediating Effects of Organizational Culture Similarity on the Path of the Knowledge Transfer to Foreign Subsidiary조연성한국산업경영학회 · 경영연구2015 · 제30권 제4호다국적기업 본사의 역지식이전 동기요인에 대한 탐색적 연구양오석, 홍성진경영경제연구소 · 아태비즈니스연구2019 · 제10권 제3호Influences of Absorptive capacity and Social capital on Reverse Knowledge Transfer오금식한국산업경영학회 · 경영연구2019 · 제34권 제2호Tapping a Foreign Subsidiary’s Competence: An Empirical Test of Subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations in South Korea송재용, 최순규, Yuzhe Miao경영연구소 · Seoul Journal of Business2008 · 제14권 제2호유통제조 기업의 해외 자회사 지식이전에서 기술특유성의 조절효과Yeon-Sung Cho한국유통과학회 · 유통과학연구2016 · 제14권 제9호Subsidiary Determinants for Technology Acquisition in South Korea: A European Experience박병일한국국제경영학회 · 국제경영연구2012 · 제23권 제3호

이 간행물의 다른 논문 (6건)

외환보유고 구성의 변화와 결정요인유재원pp. 1-26환위험이 수출과 채산성에 미치는 효과 분석이상호, 최용재pp. 57-78중국 소비자의 글로벌브랜드 선호도와 제품품질지각이 구매의도에 미치는 영향임달호, 조양, 최희빈pp. 79-114글로벌 브랜드 태도의 선행요인과 글로벌 브랜드 구매의도와의 관계 - 중국소비자를 대상으로 -채명수, 김미정, 정갑연pp. 115-148시장규모와 서비스 무역패턴서갑성, 이경희, 박문수pp. 149-183
원문 보기