IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v15y2006i4p381-400.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Knowledge development and sharing in multinational corporations: The case of a centre of excellence and a transnational team

Author

Listed:
  • Adenfelt, Maria
  • Lagerström, Katarina

Abstract

In this paper, we link the discussion on the differentiated multinational corporation (MNC) with organisational mechanisms for knowledge development and sharing. The aim is to explore the impact of different organisational mechanisms on knowledge development and sharing. Using case-study data--drawn from the same MNC--to explore two different organisational mechanisms, a Centre of Excellence and a transnational team, the findings illustrate how multifaceted knowledge development and sharing are. The organisational structure of the two organisational mechanisms partly determines whether knowledge development occurs locally or globally. This, in turn, has consequences for how knowledge sharing evolves. The sharing process is like a double-edged sword: how to share globally while allowing for local adaptations or how to share locally while developing global knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Adenfelt, Maria & Lagerström, Katarina, 2006. "Knowledge development and sharing in multinational corporations: The case of a centre of excellence and a transnational team," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 381-400, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:15:y:2006:i:4:p:381-400
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593106000564
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    2. Sumantra Ghoshal & Nitin Nohria, 1989. "Internal differentiation within multinational corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 323-337, July.
    3. Gupta, Anil K. & Govindarajan, V., 1994. "Organizing for knowledge flows within MNCs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 443-457, December.
    4. Robert Jensen & Gabriel Szulanski, 2004. "Stickiness and the adaptation of organizational practices in cross-border knowledge transfers," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(6), pages 508-523, November.
    5. Lagerström, Katarina & Andersson, Maria, 2003. "Creating and sharing knowledge within a transnational team--the development of a global business system," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 84-95, May.
    6. Anil K. Gupta & Vijay Govindarajan, 2000. "Knowledge flows within multinational corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 473-496, April.
    7. Yamin, Mo. & Otto, Juliet, 2004. "Patterns of knowledge flows and MNE innovative performance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 239-258.
    8. William E. Souder & Rudy K. Moenaert, 1992. "Integrating Marketing And R&D Project Personnel Within Innovation Projects: An Information Uncertainty Model," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 485-512, July.
    9. Nicolai Juul Foss & Torben Pedersen, 2004. "Organizing knowledge processes in the multinational corporation: an introduction," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(5), pages 340-349, September.
    10. Schlegelmilch, Bodo B. & Chini, Tina Claudia, 2003. "Knowledge transfer between marketing functions in multinational companies: a conceptual model," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 215-232, April.
    11. Foss, Nicolai J. & Pedersen, Torben, 2002. "Transferring knowledge in MNCs: The role of sources of subsidiary knowledge and organizational context," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 49-67.
    12. Li, Li, 2005. "The effects of trust and shared vision on inward knowledge transfer in subsidiaries' intra- and inter-organizational relationships," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 77-95, February.
    13. Nitin Nohria & Sumantra Ghoshal, 1994. "Differentiated fit and shared values: Alternatives for managing headquarters‐subsidiary relations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(6), pages 491-502, July.
    14. Davis, Lee N. & Meyer, Klaus E., 2004. "Subsidiary research and development, and the local environment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 359-382, June.
    15. Peter J. Lane & Michael Lubatkin, 1998. "Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning," Post-Print hal-02311860, HAL.
    16. Birkinshaw, Julian & Hood, Neil & Young, Stephen, 2005. "Subsidiary entrepreneurship, internal and external competitive forces, and subsidiary performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 227-248, April.
    17. Andrew H. van de Ven & George P. Huber, 1990. "Longitudinal Field Research Methods for Studying Processes of Organizational Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(3), pages 213-219, August.
    18. Hadley, Richard D. & Wilson, Heather I. M., 2003. "The network model of internationalisation and experiential knowledge," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(6), pages 697-717, December.
    19. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    20. Mohan Subramaniam & Stephen R. Rosenthal & Kenneth J. Hatten, 1998. "Global New Product Development Processes: Preliminary Findings and Research Propositions," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(6), pages 773-796, November.
    21. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    22. Gassmann, Oliver & von Zedtwitz, Maximilian, 1999. "New concepts and trends in international R&D organization," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 231-250, March.
    23. Mohan Subramaniam & N. Venkatraman, 2001. "Determinants of transnational new product development capability: testing the influence of transferring and deploying tacit overseas knowledge," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 359-378, April.
    24. Zander, Ivo, 1998. "The evolution of technological capabilities in the multinational corporation--dispersion, duplication and potential advantages from multinationality," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 17-35, May.
    25. Reger, Guido, 2004. "Coordinating globally dispersed research centres of excellence--the case of Philips Electronics," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 51-76.
    26. Mudambi, Ram, 2002. "Knowledge management in multinational firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 1-9.
    27. Julian Birkinshaw, 1998. "Foreign-Owned Subsidiaries and Regional Development: The Case of Sweden," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Julian Birkinshaw & Neil Hood (ed.), Multinational Corporate Evolution and Subsidiary Development, chapter 11, pages 268-298, Palgrave Macmillan.
    28. Peter J Buckley & Martin J Carter, 2004. "A formal analysis of knowledge combination in multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(5), pages 371-384, September.
    29. Ingmar Björkman & Wilhelm Barner-Rasmussen & Li Li, 2004. "Managing knowledge transfer in MNCs: the impact of headquarters control mechanisms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(5), pages 443-455, September.
    30. Sumantra Ghoshal, 1987. "Global strategy: An organizing framework," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(5), pages 425-440, September.
    31. Julian Birkinshaw, 1997. "Entrepreneurship In Multinational Corporations: The Characteristics Of Subsidiary Initiatives," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 207-229, March.
    32. Yeniyurt, Sengun & Tamer Cavusgil, S. & Hult, G. Tomas M., 2005. "A global market advantage framework: the role of global market knowledge competencies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, February.
    33. Udo Zander & Bruce Kogut, 1995. "Knowledge and the Speed of the Transfer and Imitation of Organizational Capabilities: An Empirical Test," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(1), pages 76-92, February.
    34. Ram Mudambi & Pietro Navarra, 2004. "Is knowledge power? Knowledge flows, subsidiary power and rent-seeking within MNCs," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(5), pages 385-406, September.
    35. Andersson, Ulf & Björkman, Ingmar & Forsgren, Mats, 2005. "Managing subsidiary knowledge creation: The effect of control mechanisms on subsidiary local embeddedness," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 521-538, October.
    36. Anoop Madhok & Anupama Phene, 2001. "The Co-evolutional Advantage: Strategic Management Theory and the Eclectic Paradigm," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 243-256.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hong, Jacky Fok Loi & Snell, Robin Stanley & Easterby-Smith, Mark, 2009. "Knowledge flow and boundary crossing at the periphery of a MNC," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 539-554, December.
    2. Trautmann, Gerhard & Bals, Lydia & Hartmann, Evi, 2009. "Global sourcing in integrated network structures: The case of hybrid purchasing organizations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 194-208, June.
    3. Csomós, György & Tóth, Géza, 2016. "Exploring the position of cities in global corporate research and development: A bibliometric analysis by two different geographical approaches," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 516-532.
    4. Manuel Portugal Ferreira, 2011. "Multinationals and subsidiaries: A bibliometric study on Ghoshal?s managing across borders," Working Papers 78, globADVANTAGE, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria.
    5. Maria Adenfelt & Katarina Lagerström, 2008. "The development and sharing of knowledge by Centres of Excellence and transnational teams: A conceptual framework," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 319-338, May.
    6. Achcaoucaou, Fariza & Miravitlles, Paloma & León-Darder, Fidel, 2017. "Do we really know the predictors of competence-creating R&D subsidiaries? Uncovering the mediation of dual network embeddedness," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 181-195.
    7. Amit Pariyar & Yohei Murakami & Donghui Lin & Toru Ishida, 2016. "Information Sharing Among Countries: A Perspective from Country-Specific Websites in Global Brands," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(02), pages 1-26, June.
    8. Tony Edwards & Paul Edwards & Anthony Ferner & Paul Marginson & Olga Tregaskis, 2010. "Multinational Companies and the Diffusion of Employment Practices from Outside the Country of Origin," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(5), pages 613-634, October.
    9. Achcaoucaou, Fariza & Miravitlles, Paloma & León-Darder, Fidel, 2014. "Knowledge sharing and subsidiary R&D mandate development: A matter of dual embeddedness," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 76-90.
    10. Patel, Parth & Varma, Arup & Sengupta, Santoshi & Prikshat, Verma & Park, HyunMi, 2022. "The international training of expatriates in Western subsidiaries of emerging multinational enterprises: A knowledge-based perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(1).
    11. Edwards, Tony & Tempel, Anne, 2010. "Explaining variation in reverse diffusion of HR practices: Evidence from the German and British subsidiaries of American multinationals," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 19-28, January.
    12. Gresse, Christopher & Slowak, André P., 2008. "New Knowledge in Global Innovation Teams," MPRA Paper 20092, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Michael J. Lenox & Michael W. Toffel, 2022. "Diffusing Environmental Management Practices within the Firm: The Role of Information Provision," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, May.
    14. Park, Byung Il, 2011. "Knowledge transfer capacity of multinational enterprises and technology acquisition in international joint ventures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 75-87, February.
    15. Mo Yamin & Hsin-Ju ‘Stephie’ Tsai & Ulf Holm, 2011. "The Performance Effects of Headquarters’ Involvement in Lateral Innovation Transfers in Multinational Corporations," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 157-177, April.
    16. Mabey, Christopher & Nicholds, Alyson, 2015. "Discourses of knowledge across global networks: What can be learnt about knowledge leadership from the ATLAS collaboration?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 43-54.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maria Adenfelt & Katarina Lagerström, 2008. "The development and sharing of knowledge by Centres of Excellence and transnational teams: A conceptual framework," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 319-338, May.
    2. Marcus Matthias Keupp & Maximilian Palmié & Oliver Gassmann, 2011. "Achieving Subsidiary Integration in International Innovation by Managerial “Tools”," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 213-239, April.
    3. Persson, Magnus, 2006. "The impact of operational structure, lateral integrative mechanisms and control mechanisms on intra-MNE knowledge transfer," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 547-569, October.
    4. Klaus E. Meyer & Chengguang Li & Andreas P. J. Schotter, 0. "Managing the MNE subsidiary: Advancing a multi-level and dynamic research agenda," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 0, pages 1-39.
    5. Michailova, Snejina & Mustaffa, Zaidah, 2012. "Subsidiary knowledge flows in multinational corporations: Research accomplishments, gaps, and opportunities," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 383-396.
    6. Rabbiosi, Larissa & Santangelo, Grazia D., 2013. "Parent company benefits from reverse knowledge transfer: The role of the liability of newness in MNEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 160-170.
    7. Mo Yamin & Hsin-Ju ‘Stephie’ Tsai & Ulf Holm, 2011. "The Performance Effects of Headquarters’ Involvement in Lateral Innovation Transfers in Multinational Corporations," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 157-177, April.
    8. Klaus E. Meyer & Chengguang Li & Andreas P. J. Schotter, 2020. "Managing the MNE subsidiary: Advancing a multi-level and dynamic research agenda," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 538-576, June.
    9. Zhang, Feng & Jiang, Guohua & Cantwell, John A., 2019. "Geographically Dispersed Technological Capability Building and MNC Innovative Performance: The Role of Intra-firm Flows of Newly Absorbed Knowledge," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 1-1.
    10. Patrick Regnér & Udo Zander, 2011. "Knowledge and Strategy Creation in Multinational Companies," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(6), pages 821-850, December.
    11. Zhaleh Najafi-Tavani & Axèle Giroud & Rudolf R. Sinkovics, 2012. "Mediating Effects in Reverse Knowledge Transfer Processes," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 461-488, June.
    12. Lunnan, Randi & Meyer, Klaus & Mudambi, Ram & Yang, Qin, 2023. "The impact of knowledge and financial resource flows for MNE strategy: A typology of subsidiary roles," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(6).
    13. Gnyawali, Devi R. & Singal, Manisha & Mu, Shaohua Carolyn, 2009. "Knowledge ties among subsidiaries in MNCs: A multi-level conceptual model," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 387-400, December.
    14. Achcaoucaou, Fariza & Miravitlles, Paloma & León-Darder, Fidel, 2014. "Knowledge sharing and subsidiary R&D mandate development: A matter of dual embeddedness," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 76-90.
    15. Tippmann, Esther & Sharkey Scott, Pamela & Mangematin, Vincent, 2014. "Subsidiary managers’ knowledge mobilizations: Unpacking emergent knowledge flows," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 431-443.
    16. Maximilian Palmié & Marco Zeschky & Stephan Winterhalter & Philipp Walter Sauter & Naomi Haefner & Oliver Gassmann, 2016. "Coordination mechanisms for international innovation in SMEs: effects on time-to-market and R&D task complexity as a moderator," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 273-294, February.
    17. Williams, Christopher, 2009. "Subsidiary-level determinants of global initiatives in multinational corporations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 92-104, March.
    18. Esther Tippmann & Pamela Sharkey Scott & Vincent Mangematin, 2014. "Subsidiary managers’ knowledge mobilizations: Unpacking emergent knowledge flows," Post-Print hal-00864324, HAL.
    19. repec:hal:gemwpa:hal-00864324 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Yuzhe Miao & Yuping Zeng & Jeoung Yul Lee, 2016. "Headquarters Resource Allocation for Inter-Subsidiary Innovation Transfer: The Effect of Within-Country and Cross-Country Cultural Differences," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 665-698, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:15:y:2006:i:4:p:381-400. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.