Knowledge Recipients,Acquisition Mechanisms,and Knowledge Transfer at Japanese Subsidiaries: An Empirical Study in China

Although knowledge transfer contributes to a firm's competitive advantage, the effect of mechanisms used by a knowledge recipient on knowledge acquisition has been understudied. This article provides some insights on the interplay of knowledge recipients and transfer mechanisms between Japanese multinational corporations and their subsidiaries operating in China. Using structural equation methodology, this research proposes a knowledge transfer model that captures knowledge recipients’ characteristics and acquisition mechanisms, and empirically investigates the impact of knowledge recipients on mechanisms to test the applicability of specific mechanisms in knowledge acquisition. This article argues that knowledge recipients’ motivation and absorptive capacity have a positive impact on knowledge acquisition, and simultaneously provides evidence that mechanisms have mediating effects, which are vital to our understanding of knowledge transfer effectiveness. This study extends our understanding by adding knowledge transfer mechanisms as mediating factors in the relationship between knowledge recipients’ characteristics and knowledge acquisition, and quantifying the relationship. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Strategic human resource practices and innovation performance — The mediating role of knowledge management capacity

This study examines the role of knowledge management capacity in the relationship between strategic human resource practices and innovation performance from the knowledge-based view. This study uses regression analysis to test the hypotheses in a sample of 146 firms. The results indicate that strategic human resource practices are positively related to knowledge management capacity which, in turn, has a positive effect on innovation performance. The findings provide evidence that knowledge management capacity plays a mediating role between strategic human resource practices and innovation performance. Finally, this study discusses managerial implications and highlights future research directions.     

Knowledge transfer in the context of buyer–supplier relationship: An analysis of a supplier's customer portfolio

In the context of buyer–supplier relationship, the present study will not only analyse the role of formal and informal mechanisms to transfer knowledge but also the direct and moderating effect of trustworthiness, as relational dimensions, to understand how customers acquire knowledge from suppliers. The results related to a sample of 105 customers belonging to a medium-sized Italian manufacturer's customer portfolio show that both formal and informal transfer mechanisms positively impact knowledge acquisition. Trustworthiness positively moderates the effect of informal transfer mechanisms and negatively moderates the effect of formal transfer mechanisms on knowledge transfer. Some considerations regarding the customer portfolio are suggested to enhance our understanding of the effectiveness of knowledge transfer mechanisms in relation to different trustworthiness contexts.     

Asset specificity roles in interfirm cooperation: Reducing opportunistic behavior or increasing cooperative behavior?

Extant research offers two alternative mechanisms for relating the asset specificity of a cooperative relationship to partnership performance. Transaction cost economics argues that the specific assets invested in a partnership increase the hazards of opportunism. As firms select appropriate governance structures to reduce opportunistic behavior, performance increases. On the other hand, relational exchange theory suggests that asset specificity enhances the trust between partners, which in turn leads to more cooperative behavior and higher partnership performance. This paper tests both mechanisms simultaneously on a sample of procurement relationships between Hong Kong trading firms and their Chinese suppliers using SEM methods. Our results support the predictions of relational exchange theory more than those of transaction cost economics. The paper also discusses the role of the Chinese context on theory application.     

Innovation at the workplace: Do professional competencies matter?

This paper analyzes individuals' propensity to innovate in professional environments, by focusing on the specific competency profile of individuals who play a role in the incorporation of product, technological, and knowledge innovations at work. The analysis draws on economic and managerial literature on innovation, innovative behavior, and competencies to gain a better understanding of the relationships between the process of competency development and innovative behavior in working environments. Using data from REFLEX, a European survey on the transition from higher education to labor markets, the empirical component of this study estimates discrete response models to explain the propensity of individuals to innovate at work. The models take the responses to a set of 19 questionnaire items as the basis for determining individuals' competency profiles, while also incorporating firm, working environment, and personal characteristics. The estimation results provide evidence of significant marginal effects of specific competencies on the probability that individuals act as innovators at the workplace. Competencies such as alertness to new opportunities, ability to present products, ideas or reports, ability to mobilize the capacities of others, ability to come up with new ideas and solutions, and ability to use computers and the Internet appear to have stronger marginal effects on the likelihood of innovating and, consequently, emerge as key competencies in explaining the propensity of individuals to become innovators in their working environments.     

Knowledge translation through expatriates in international knowledge transfer

Studies of international knowledge transfer usually focus on the transfer of knowledge without loss between organizational units. However, this research has frequently been inconclusive because of the tacit nature of knowledge and the difficulties of measuring the results of knowledge transfer. Therefore, we suggest a paradigmatic shift of research from knowledge transfer without loss, to knowledge translation as a matter of modification of knowledge when transferred from one context to an other. According to this perspective, the knowledge transfer between the MNE HQ and foreign subsidiaries is a socio-cultural process in which expatriates can be expected to play an important role.In this paper, we study the impact of expatriates in knowledge translation from MNE HQ to foreign subsidiaries. Through an empirical analysis, we examine how the characteristics of expatriates influence the usefulness of knowledge transferred internationally. An important result of the study is that the expatriation experience and, in particular, the relationship development capability has significant positive effects on the international knowledge translation process. However, we did not find any statistical evidence that an expatriate's experience of the particular industry or the particular country has a significant effect.     

Crisis,internal governance mechanisms and pension fund performance: Evidence from Poland

This study provides new insight on the impact of supervisory board structure as an internal governance mechanism on privately defined contribution pension fund performance in Poland. Using a hand-collected data set, we find evidence that the chairman, as a motivated insider, plays an important role in determining fund performance. The results also show, although with weaker evidence, that outsiders may positively impact fund performance. During the 2007–2008 crisis, however, the insider professional knowledge outweighed the benefits of having motivated outsiders on the supervisory board. Consequently, the results show that both the composition of the supervisory board and the motivation and knowledge of its members are important in explaining pension fund performance. We also find that other governance factors have no impact on fund performance. The results are a relevant contribution to the current regulatory debate on reforms of the pension fund industry in Poland, arguing that modifying the supervisory board structure and electing outsiders with professional knowledge may significantly improve its performance.     

Factors in the effective transfer of knowledge from multinational enterprises to their foreign subsidiaries: a Mozambican case study

The purpose of this article is to better understand the role of internal stakeholders in subsidiaries of multinational companies (MNCs) in order to offer potential insights into the cross‐border transfer of knowledge from those companies’ headquarters to their subsidiaries. The focus is upon subsidiaries in developing countries, here Mozambique. More specifically, the article is concerned with identifying factors that influence the learning of internal stakeholders and noting practices which seem associated with a high level of absorptive capacity and performance of subsidiaries. The starting point is evidence of ineffective transfer of knowledge by MNCs to their subsidiaries in developing countries, with consequent sub‐standard performance. The research reported involves four case studies of Portuguese companies operating in Mozambique and draws on data from interviews with senior and middle managers in the firms’ Mozambican subsidiaries. The results obtained suggest that successful knowledge transfer to overseas subsidiaries is found under the following conditions. First, the parent company knows the local context and provides a flow of relevant information. Second, application of knowledge locally is done flexibly to suit local circumstances. Next, a participatory approach is used so that local staff can see why the knowledge conveyed is necessary. Fourth, explanation and demonstration are key techniques, with major roles for on‐the‐job training, continuous improvement and training at headquarters. Finally, issues arising from local culture may need to be addressed.     

Parent control mechanisms,knowledge attributes,knowledge acquisition and performance of IJVs in Taiwan service industries

The study explores parent companies' use of control mechanisms in their international joint venture (IJV), IJV knowledge acquisition and IJVs' performance. Traditionally, control mechanisms are criticized for potentially limiting autonomous learning. However, we propose that knowledge-oriented control mechanisms used by the parent company on its subsidiaries could facilitate knowledge acquisition and learning. This study takes samples from 104 Sino-foreign joint ventures in service industries in Taiwan. The results of the study indicate that in IJV, parent companies require a ‘personnel training’ control mechanism as a guide for gaining codified knowledge from foreign partners. MNCs should apply ‘culture’ and ‘performance’ control mechanisms to gain non-codified knowledge. In turn, the tacit knowledge of IJV results in a better economic, competency-based performance, while explicit knowledge more significantly influences the synthetic performance.     

Middle managers' role in transferring person-centered management and care

This paper presents a study of the role of middle managers in the knowledge transfer related to a person-centered management and care approach at a physical rehabilitation center. This qualitative research comprises a multi-case study, representing the six middle managers of the organization studied. The main findings generated by this research indicate that despite top management's efforts to disseminate a person-centered approach throughout the organization, the knowledge transfer process mainly depends on the absorptive capacity of middle managers. When middle managers have the capacity to absorb the person-centered approach, often because it is compatible with their values and current practices, this capacity is expressed mainly through their behavioral exemplarity. The results of the study also engender an intervention model illustrating the key role of middle managers in the transfer of a person-centered management and care approach. The model includes macro- and micro-contextual elements that facilitate the transfer.     

A resource-based analysis of realized knowledge relatedness in diversified firms

The competitiveness of related diversified firms depends upon their ability to exploit knowledge relatedness by using the internal knowledge transfer processes within the organizational network. However, most existing studies deal with potential knowledge relatedness at the corporate level, rather than focusing on realized knowledge flows among divisions at the business unit level. Little is consequently known about the very essence of related diversifiers, i.e., the management of knowledge flows within the corporate knowledge network. This study therefore attempts to bridge this research gap by distinguishing four knowledge roles within related firms and analyzing their relative performance outcomes. Based on a sample of 116 product divisions, results indicate that divisions playing a knowledge provider role outperform those that not play that role, thus signaling unique resource endowments in the formers. On the contrary, those divisions which plays a knowledge receiving role do not benefit from the internal accumulation of resources.     

Using R&D cooperative arrangements to leverage managerial experience: A study of technology-intensive new ventures

During the past decade, increasing attention has been given to the widespread use of research and development (R&D) strategic alliances and cooperative interorganizational relationships. This research has addressed a variety of inter-firm relationships ranging from joint ventures to informal networking. However, most of this literature is based on research involving large established firms. More recently, researchers have recognized that small firms or new ventures are also adopting cooperative R&D strategies with increasing frequency. A variety of reasons for the increasing use of R&D cooperative arrangements in new ventures has been offered, including the need to complement a new venture's existing internal resources, the need to quickly gain the technical capabilities to compete in rapidly changing markets, and the desire to minimize the fixed costs associated with acquiring capital assets.This paper reports the results of a study of new high-technology ventures that examined the relationship between performance, the experience of a venture's management team, and its use of R&D cooperative arrangements. The central proposition of this research was that the effectiveness of R&D cooperative activities is associated with the level of combined expertise possessed by the new venture's management team. Specifically, it was anticipated that new ventures with management teams possessing more experience with the industry and/or with similar technologies would be better able to successfully engage in R&D cooperative activities.The primary data analysis technique was moderated regression. The data was collected from Security and Exchange Commission initial public offering registration statements and other archival documents filed by 210 new ventures in three high-technology manufacturing industries.The results of the regression analysis revealed that sales growth was associated with the use of R&D cooperative arrangements. More important, the results also indicated that this relationship was positive when the new venture's management team was relatively more familiar with the industry, markets, and/or with similar technologies. In other words, our results indicate that the relatively more experienced managers were more proficient at using R&D cooperative activities to strategically position their respective firms vis-à-vis their less experienced counterparts. Evidently, these managers were better able to identify the risks and benefits of engaging in such cooperative activities. Additionally, we provide preliminary evidence that the greater knowledge possessed by the management teams may have allowed the new ventures to reduce the costs associated with R&D market transactions.These findings are important because they suggest that prior managerial experience in similar industries and/or with similar technologies is an important prerequisite for the successful use of R&D cooperative arrangements by new high-technology ventures. Management's knowledge of customer needs, product characteristics, and/or the specific idiosyncracies of the industry and/or technology seems to significantly enhance a new technology-intensive venture's ability to effectively engage in R&D cooperative activities.     

Coordinating knowledge transfer: Global managers as higher-level intermediaries

In their day-to-day work, global managers exchange knowledge with individuals and teams scattered across the organizational network in order to make progress on current projects. Drawing on a case study of a global organization, we show that a core challenge of managerial work is associated with coordinating knowledge that is spatially dispersed and temporally fragmented. To address this challenge, we discuss the notion of ‘higher-level intermediary’ as a managerial role that provides coordination across functional and geographical boundaries by making knowledge sources available, connecting the parties to the transfer, and generating opportunities for knowledge exchange. These higher-level intermediaries act as ‘ambidextrous ties’ able to connect formal and informal knowledge search and transfer mechanisms.     

Post-entry internationalization speed of SMEs: The role of relational mechanisms and foreign market knowledge

Prior research shows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can utilize domestic networks with internationally experienced partners to accelerate their internationalization process. Yet, there is a lack of clarity and limited empirical evidence regarding the role of relational mechanisms within these networks in driving post-entry internationalization speed (PIS) of SMEs. To address this gap, this study examines the relational mechanisms-PIS relationship by drawing insights from the relational view to argue that foreign market knowledge mediates the relationship between relational mechanisms and PIS. The hypothesized study model is tested using a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique on a sample of 394 UK based manufacturing SMEs. Our results show that foreign market knowledge acquisition from domestic networks fully mediates the relationship between relational mechanisms and PIS. Additionally, the linkage between foreign market knowledge acquisition and PIS is moderated by domestic environmental hostility, such that the relationship is strengthened when domestic environmental hostility increases. We discuss the contributions and implications of our results and suggest opportunities for future research.     

Opportunities for integrating sensory evaluation into consumer studies

Abstract The role of sensory evaluation in the food industry continues to develop, as manufacturers and retailers realize its value in providing an investigative and informative link between the development and production of a product and its ultimate consumption. Owing to the increasing role and opportunity for misuse of the science, it is important that food–related professionals have an appropriate level of awareness and degree of competency in its application. This paper offers a transferable teaching methodology for sensory evaluation from a consumer studies degree programme. The aim of the teaching programme is to engender a critical appreciation of the subject as a rigorous, scientific discipline and to help ensure an appropriate transfer of knowledge into the working environment.     

The Impact of Distance (External) and Organizational Factors (Internal) on the Knowledge Chain of Multinational Corporations: South Africa as a Host Country

The geographic dispersion of multinational corporations (MNCs) implies that while it gives them access to new and different knowledge from diverse localities, it also adds to the costs and complexities of managing that knowledge and its effective dispersal across geographies. The purpose of this article is to examine how knowledge is transferred within MNCs and provide a framework for this process, particularly focusing on the role that distance (external) and organizational (internal) factors plays therein. A qualitative study is utilized, focusing on two technology companies from different cultural home countries and the technology transfer process with their South African subsidiaries. We find that the standardization of knowledge impacts the creation and diffusion of knowledge; expatriates impact on the creation, diffusion, and adoption; and, finally, relevance and localization impact on the adoption and utilization of knowledge. We present a conceptual framework around trust and rationalization as regards transferring knowledge within MNCs and find some evidence of the impact of distance, particularly cultural, on the methods employed in this transfer. The article illustrates the practical ways in which MNCs organize their internal resources and overcome various dimensions of distance in ensuring knowledge transfers. By choosing companies from such divergent home countries (one industrialized and one newly industrialized, with very different cultural settings) and examining their knowledge transfers with their South African subsidiaries, we are able to unpack various dimensions of distance and how organizational mechanisms affect this process. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Supply Chain Management Competency and Firm Financial Success

Supply chain management (SCM) plays a major role in creating (or destroying) shareholder value by influencing the three major drivers of firm financial performance: revenue, operating costs, and working capital. Yet, the relationship between SCM competency and firm financial performance is not well‐established. Drawing on the resource‐based view of the firm, this study assesses this relationship using Delphi‐style opinion data from AMR Research’s Supply Chain Top 25 rankings to assess SCM competency and Altman’s (1968) Z‐score statistic as the measure of financial success. The study findings show that firms recognized by industry experts for SCM competency have significantly higher Z‐scores than their close competitors and industry averages.     

Managing global knowledge transfer: Inpatriate manager embeddedness and firm innovation

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of tacit knowledge transfer in a particular type of global manager - the inpatriate manager who is typically relocated from the MNC’s subsidiary to headquarter. To do so, we draw on social embeddedness theory. Our paper suggests that if an inpatriate manager becomes embedded within the MNCs headquarter, tacit knowledge transfer will occur resulting in innovative practices and a global mindset within the MNCs headquarters. This study takes the unique approach of studying the barriers that inpatriate managers face in the transfer of tacit knowledge and highlights the role of human resources in facilitating the transfer of knowledge across the MNC. The paper articulates the implications for policy and practice and a future research agenda.     

Absorptive capacity, innovation, and financial performance

This study here examines the role of absorptive capacity as both a mechanism to identify and translate external knowledge inflows into tangible benefits, as well as a means of achieving superior innovation and time-lagged financial performance. Using path analysis in a sample of 461 Greek enterprises participating in the third Community Innovation Survey, this study demonstrates that external knowledge inflows are directly related to absorptive capacity and indirectly related to innovation. Absorptive capacity contributes, directly and indirectly, to innovation and financial performance but in different time spans. This study, therefore, contributes to the understanding of absorptive capacity's antecedents and outcomes by providing empirical evidence of longitudinal form that offers important research and practical implications.     

Partnering with universities: a good choice for nanotechnology start-up firms?

The role of universities in supporting economic development has been explored in studies emphasizing the mechanisms of technology transfer and knowledge spillover. However, in addition to these forms of intellectual capital, university scientists bring other resources into research collaboration and contribute to firm partnerships in both direct and indirect ways. This paper develops the concept of resource spillover, which captures the various ways in which firms can benefit from collaborations with university scientists. The study categorizes the resources possessed by university scientists into intellectual capital, social capital, and positional capital, and tests the impact of each on the performance of firms. Using a sample of new nanotechnology-based firms in the USA, the study finds that the benefits to firms from university scientist research collaboration include enhancements to perceived research capacity and technology potential, which in turn may increase chances of securing external funding.