Inter-Organizational Knowledge Transfer: Current Themes and Future Prospects

abstract    Many papers have been published recently in the fields of strategy and international business research incorporating the role of organizational knowledge as a basis of firm competitive advantage. While such knowledge is normally developed within the firm, it is important that firms possess the ability to learn from others in order to meet the increasing pace of competition. Knowledge transfer, defined here as an event through which one organization learns from the experience of another, has thus become an important research area within the broader domain of organizational learning and knowledge management. This paper presents a theoretical framework, identifies key themes covered by the six articles included in the Special Issue on Inter-Organizational Knowledge Transfer, and then discusses priorities for future research.     

Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States: Location choice determinants and strategic implications for the State of Indiana

Identifying the unique U.S. state-level factors that more often give rise to Chinese firm-led investment is the central focus of this article. Looking at Chinese investment in the United States between 2007 and 2011, this article (1) explores the determinants underlying the locational choices of Chinese firms, (2) seeks to understand why some U.S. states receive relatively greater amounts of investment from China, (3) assesses whether prior trends are likely to continue into the future; and—perhaps most importantly—(4) seeks to identify what (if anything) the state of Indiana can do to better position itself to capture greater amounts of Chinese investment moving forward. We recommend the following actions for the state of Indiana: (1) firm targeting—Indiana is a prime FDI target for private, firm-led, greenfield investment; (2) differentiation— Indiana has distinct advantages over other locations in the Midwest; (3) promotions—trade missions and overseas office locations are investments, not costs; (4) investments in relationships—cultural sensitivity and friendship make the difference.     

MANAGING FOR AUTONOMY IN JOINT VENTURES: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF UPWARD INFLUENCE*

This article explores the relationships among influence, autonomy and control in a joint venture setting. It addresses the mechanisms available to joint venture (JV) managers to influence and gain compliance from parent firms. Control categories derived primarily from research on unified structures are explored in a new domain, an international joint venture. the beginning of new theory specific to relationships in joint ventures is developed based on causal maps of managerial perceptions. the results suggest that the use of upward influence to gain autonomy in a joint venture is different and more complex than in unified structures or among independent organizations.     

Explaining IJV survival in a transitional economy through social exchange and knowledge‐based perspectives

In this study, we combine social exchange and knowledge‐based perspectives to develop a general path model of IJV survival. We further refine our expectations by considering the transitional economic context of our study and the somewhat unique managerial values resulting from the legacy of Marxist ideology. Results from structural equation modeling suggest that an imbalance in the management control structure between the parents leads to parental conflict and an increased likelihood of IJV failure. An imbalance in the ownership control structure, however, had no influence on conflict or survival. In general, support from the foreign parent is positively related to IJV learning and IJV survival. However, higher levels of technical support provided by the foreign parent to the IJV reduced the level of parental conflict, whereas management support had no effect on conflict. Our results suggest some dilemmas for firms pursuing IJVs in transitional economies. Although the foreign parent often contributes critical resources to the IJV, providing it with bargaining power and a high level of influence, an imbalance in management control between the partners may ultimately be detrimental to IJV survival. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.