Identification of MNC knowledge resources for the local market: an examination of 7-Eleven's international licensing operations

A major concern for local managers is the identification of appropriate knowledge resources for their markets. This paper looks at how local managers make decisions on whom to learn from within the multinational corporation (MNC). Learning within the MNC has traditionally been studied from a knowledge transfer perspective, that is, focusing more on the MNC's facilitation of internal knowledge flows rather than observing local initiatives in knowledge identification. Drawing on network and psychic distance literature, the paper argues that the learning behavior of local units evolves through time. Knowledge exchanges tend to occur between markets that appear to have smaller psychic distances, especially in the initial stages of local market development. The argument is developed using a multiple case study of 7-Eleven licensees.