Subsidiary knowledge flow strategies and purpose of expatriate assignments

Although a general association between the role of international assignees and knowledge transfer has been noted in the international human resource literature, very little is known on how subsidiary knowledge flow strategies influence the purpose of expatriate assignments. Building specifically on Gupta and Govindarajan’s typology of subsidiary knowledge flow strategies and Hocking’s expatriate assignment purpose, we examine the link between subsidiary knowledge flow and the purpose of expatriate assignments using a mixed method approach. Combining survey data and qualitative interviews from 156 subsidiaries in the service and manufacturing sector in Malaysia and Singapore, we find that subsidiaries with divergent strategic roles have different knowledge flow strategies, thus leading to different purposes of expatriate assignments.     

The interplay of networking activities and internal knowledge actions for subsidiary influence within MNCs

Knowledge-based and network-based activities are known determinants of foreign subsidiary influence. We demonstrate that the interaction between these factors is essential in understanding how subsidiaries gain influence within an MNC. We test this using data on 184 foreign-owned subsidiaries in the UK. The results indicate that the possession of strategic resources (knowledge or embedded relations) increases subsidiary influence only when the knowledge is transferred back to headquarters. Importantly, the impact of subsidiary–headquarters embeddedness, external embeddedness and knowledge development on influence is mediated by the extent of reverse knowledge transfer. This mediating role sheds new light on the antecedents to subsidiary influence.     

跨国公司在华本土化公关探析

本土化公关成为跨国公司在中国经营的重要手段,主要表现为政府公关、体育公关、文化公关、危机公关、灰色公关等形式。良好的政府公关、体育公关、文化公关可以树立企业形象,增强公众亲和力,扩宽信息渠道,获得媒体的柔性宣传,为跨国公司在中国的发展起到巨大作用。同时,危机公关方面表现的欠佳和灰色公关的不正确使用,使得跨国公司的本土化公关仍有亟待改进之处。研究借鉴跨国公司本土化公关,有利于我国企业实施“走出去”策略。     

International entrepreneurial marketing strategies of MNCs: Bricolage as practiced by marketing managers

The extant research lacks information on entrepreneurial marketing in large international firms. This study explores the international entrepreneurial marketing strategies of multinational corporations (MNCs), and its results reveal that MNC marketing managers use bricolage to develop international entrepreneurial marketing. A novel finding of the study is that the international entrepreneurial marketing strategies of MNCs include co-innovation, accelerating customer value, and international expansion based on regional market leadership. Marketing managers use both parallel and selective bricolage in their international entrepreneurial marketing. Environmental uncertainty and entrepreneurship culture are important drivers of the implementation of bricolage to develop international entrepreneurial marketing. The research findings can inform MNC management of the options available to utilize corporate venturing to facilitate bricolage and in turn to realize international entrepreneurial marketing strategies.     

跨国公司选址的影响因素及其对区域经济发展的启示

跨国公司的选址决策对于东道国的经济发展具有重要意义。然而,跨国公司在东道国的分布并不均匀,呈现出比较明显的地区差异。本文从区域条件、跨国公司的战略决策以及跨国公司和东道国之间的技术博弈三个方面研究跨国公司选址的影响因素,并就如何吸引跨国公司进入、融入全球价值链,促进区域经济发展提出了政策建议。     

跨国公司内部贸易对母国竞争力的相关性分析及启示

目前,跨国公司内部贸易的存在与发展,极大地带动了其母国进出口贸易规模的扩大,且由于海外子公司的大量返销行为,带动了母国国内产业结构的升级。应从有效利用其母子公司间的内部贸易,达到公司整体利益的最大化,实现对国内经济的拉动效应等方面得出对中国企业跨国经营的启示。     

中国跨国公司的市场产权问题研究

市场产权理论是继产权理论之后,近几年来一些学者提出的重要理论,受到国内外学者的普遍关注。但市场产权在其内容、主体及来源上均有商榷之处。因为市场主体不只是国家,还可以是企业,特别还可以是跨国公司。因此,跨国公司要扩张和发展,获取市场产权更有重要意义。根据国际经验,中国跨国公司可以通过投资结构的改变、技术控制、品牌控制及跨国并购来获取市场产权。但根据中国的实际情况,还应采取综合运用各种途径、培植知识产权扩张实力、利用两个市场并打好本土化的基础以及深化市场产权的体制改革等对策来获取市场产权,从而促进中国跨国公司的扩张。     

Knowledge embeddedness and the transfer mechanisms in multinational corporations

This paper reports a qualitative study conducted at four Japanese subsidiaries in China and Vietnam about their process of international knowledge transfer. Building on the literatures concerning the diverse types and characteristics of knowledge in multinational corporations (MNCs), we explore the broad mechanisms adopted and locally generated by the host country subsidiaries for transferring the foreign knowledge and putting the locally embedded knowledge into practical use at the local settings. The findings indicated (1) the limitations of applying a standardized and universal set of knowledge transfer mechanisms without considering local idiosyncrasies and (2) the contributions of local agents and institutions throughout the process of local knowledge adaptation and development.     

The Razor's edge: Managing MNC affiliates in Iran

Much has been written on the nature of international assignees’ experiences of managing Multinational Corporation (MNC) affiliates in the context of Western economies. This study aims to broaden the debate and elucidate these issues in the largely overlooked region of Middle East with a particular focus on Iran. Data from six MNC affiliates across two high growth global industries reveals that the nature of international assignees’ experiences can be explained in terms of desirable, indifference, and undesirable effects of managing MNC affiliates. Specifically, it was found that the international assignees’ perceptions of managing MNC affiliates were formed prior to their appointments. Furthermore, while conformance to headquarter (HQ) managerial orientations was seen to serve as a proxy for earlier desirable experiences of these international assignees, their current performance was seen to deteriorate by the need to fully comply with the HQ's way of doing things. Together, these findings support the view that the degree of congruence or fit between, on the one hand, the HQ and international assignees’ orientations, and on the other hand, between the international assignees and the host country culture could have implications for the success or failure of the international assignees in the context of Iranian-based MNCs. Finally, the paper concludes with implications and lessons for policy makers, practitioners and academics.     

Gender in international business journals: A review and conceptualization of MNCs as gendered social spaces

The paper reviews 105 contributions published in journals pertinent to the field of International Business (IB) between 1991 and 2014 and details four main conceptualizations of gender: how women are compared against men, how gender is treated as a control variable and a cultural macro variable, and how gender is 'done' in international organizations. The review reveals that positivist epistemological assumptions dominate the IB field and that the current understanding of gender is limited. To advance the research, the paper develops the notion of MNCs as gendered social spaces and explains why the IB field would benefit from a more nuanced understanding and incorporation of gender relations into its analyses and discussions. The paper outlines theoretical and methodological advances associated with the reconceptualization of MNCs as gendered social spaces.     

Production transfer within multinational enterprises and American wages

This paper tests whether the transfer of production stages within US-headquartered multinational enterprises (MNEs) from US parents to foreign affiliates has contributed to within-industry shifts in US relative labor demand toward the more-skilled. There are two main empirical results. First, there is evidence of MNE transfer during the past 20 years. Second, regression analysis does not support the MNE hypothesis. MNE transfer tends to have small, imprecisely estimated effects on US relative labor demand. This finding is inconsistent with models of MNEs in which affiliate activities substitute for parent unskilled-labor-intensive activities.     

A strategic risk approach to knowledge management

In today's business environment, strong forces of competition and globalization have created an urgency to focus how an organization controls and nurtures its intellectual capital. The concept of knowledge and its management has gained currency and momentum as technology has enabled thoughts and ideas to be more easily generated and distributed. With increased application of technologies such as the Internet, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and advanced software capabilities, it has been suggested the time has come for discussion of a new paradigm for knowledge management. Toward that end, this article examines the knowledge literature and reviews the experience of a leading private healthcare group, with the objective of gaining a better understanding of the issues that confront effective knowledge management in contemporary organizations. Finally, a tentative knowledge process model is developed herein, one which is intended to guide future discussion in the ongoing knowledge debate.     

基于知识结构的跨国公司子公司成长战略研究

基于知识结构的子公司成长实质上是子公司内外部知识积累互动、优化知识结构的过程。知识基及其构成是子公司成长的内在基本条件;母合知识结构及其外部知识结构的互动是子公司成长的真正机理;子公司知识结构的变化为其成长提供了可能。基于知识结构的子公司成长战略有利于我国企业与跨国公司人力资源和知识网络的有效嫁接,能够促进我国企业的持续快速成长。     

跨国企业母子公司知识整合的理论研究

跨国企业母子公司的知识整合已经成为母公司和子公司组织创新、核心能力发展和竞争优势产生的主要方式。本文详细论述了跨国企业母子公司间知识转化及知识整合的内容,跨国企业母子公司知识整合需要穿越的三个边界,以及跨国企业母子公司间边界渗透和知识整合的实现。     

跨国公司生产组织变革、技术外溢与我国加工贸易的升级

本文探讨了跨国公司国际生产组织的变革以及与这种变革相适应的国际生产网络中的技术外溢机制与加工贸易升级之间的关系。为了与产品内分工相适应,跨国公司调整其国际生产组织方式,形成了国际生产网络。以跨国公司为主导的国际生产网络中的技术外溢为我国加工企业提升生产能力带来了良机,对我国加工贸易升级具有重要意义。我国的加工贸易企业既要积极参与到国际生产网络之中,又要主动学习和吸收高层级主体向其溢出的先进技术和知识。     

How social capital and knowledge affect innovation

This research analyzes the effects of interorganizational links on radical innovation using a comprehensive framework that integrates three research streams: social capital, the knowledge-based view and innovation. Incorporating data from 143 companies of innovative manufacturing and service industries, our results show that while knowledge complexity per se exerts a clear influence on radical innovation, the effect of knowledge tacitness appears only in combination with social capital. Similarly, the mere existence of strong cooperation agreements (relational social capital) does not guarantee more radical innovations, only when combining high levels of social capital with tacit knowledge does this antecedent produce more radical innovation.     

Facilitating knowledge transfer during SOX-mandated audit partner rotation

Audit teams are responsible for the discovery of the true financial state of a business. The ramifications of the quality of these efforts ripple throughout our economy. Requirements of Section 203 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)—which mandates rotation of the audit team member who bears primary responsibility for the audit—began to take effect as recently as 2007-2008. The potential for knowledge loss within the audit team via this mandated rotation comes with great costs and risks for all stakeholders, as audit team members possess perhaps the most intimate knowledge of businesses. To aid in the prevention of knowledge loss and the facilitation of knowledge transfer from the outgoing to the incoming partner, we suggest four primary knowledge transfer approaches which may be used together in the post-SOX environment. These approaches are: (1) adequate planning of member rotation far in advance of the deadline for each partner; (2) consideration of strategic fit among the incoming partner, the client, the industry, and the team; (3) improved documentation of the outgoing partner's knowledge to be shared with the incoming partner; and (4) increased interaction among the rotating partners—outgoing and incoming—and the client to assist in the sharing of critical, yet difficult to transfer, tacit knowledge.     

Knowledge outflows from foreign subsidiaries and the tension between knowledge creation and knowledge protection: Evidence from the semiconductor industry

This paper analyzes the MNC subsidiaries’ trade-off between the need for knowledge creation and the need for knowledge protection, and relates it to the extent of knowledge outflows generated within the host location. Combining research in International Business with Social Theory, we build a conceptual framework suggesting that subsidiaries that extensively draw on external knowledge sources are also more likely to generate knowledge outflows to local firms. We argue that this may be explained by the subsidiaries’ willingness to build the trust that facilitates the establishment of reciprocal knowledge linkages. However, when the value of the subsidiary's knowledge stock is very high, the need for knowledge protection restrains reciprocity mechanisms in knowledge exchanges, thus reducing the extent of knowledge outflows to the host location. This study contributes to the literature on the firm-level antecedents of FDI-mediated local knowledge outflows, as well as to the broad IB literature on the relationship between subsidiaries and their host regions. The implications for managers and policy-makers are also discussed.