IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v18y2009i6p539-554.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Knowledge flow and boundary crossing at the periphery of a MNC

Author

Listed:
  • Hong, Jacky Fok Loi
  • Snell, Robin Stanley
  • Easterby-Smith, Mark

Abstract

In this paper, we develop a model of four modes of knowledge flow, two involving knowledge acquisition and sharing, and two involving the localizing, embedding and investment of knowing in practice. We illustrate the model with data from an embedded case study involving a focal China-based subsidiary of a Japanese MNC, its headquarters, and two of its local suppliers. While power asymmetries appeared to have substantial impact on the terms upon which syntactic, semantic and pragmatic boundaries were crossed, successful knowledge transfer and boundary crossing appeared to depend on the willingness and ability of the various parties to engage in joint development of knowledge for mutual benefit.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:18:y:2009:i:6:p:539-554
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593109001012
    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. C. Lakshman & Ronaldo C. Parente, 2008. "Supplier‐Focused Knowledge Management in the Automobile Industry and Its Implications for Product Performance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 317-342, March.
    2. Paul R. Carlile, 2004. "Transferring, Translating, and Transforming: An Integrative Framework for Managing Knowledge Across Boundaries," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(5), pages 555-568, October.
    3. 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.
    4. Hasegawa, Harukiyo, 2000. "Global acquisition and knowledge transfer -- a case study of company D," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 587-598, October.
    5. Bernard L. Simonin, 1999. "Ambiguity and the process of knowledge transfer in strategic alliances," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(7), pages 595-623, July.
    6. Casson, Mark & Dark, Ken & Gulamhussen, Mohamed Azzim, 2009. "Extending internalisation theory: From the multinational enterprise to the knowledge-based empire," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 236-256, June.
    7. Ambos, Tina C. & Ambos, Björn & Schlegelmilch, Bodo B., 2006. "Learning from foreign subsidiaries: An empirical investigation of headquarters' benefits from reverse knowledge transfers," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 294-312, June.
    8. Michael D Lord & Annette L Ranft, 2000. "Organizational Learning About New International Markets: Exploring the Internal Transfer of Local Market Knowledge," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(4), pages 573-589, December.
    9. Richard J. Boland & Ramkrishnan V. Tenkasi, 1995. "Perspective Making and Perspective Taking in Communities of Knowing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(4), pages 350-372, August.
    10. Deborah Dougherty, 1992. "Interpretive Barriers to Successful Product Innovation in Large Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 179-202, May.
    11. Anil K. Gupta & Vijay Govindarajan, 2000. "Knowledge flows within multinational corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 473-496, April.
    12. Szulanski, Gabriel, 2000. "The Process of Knowledge Transfer: A Diachronic Analysis of Stickiness," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 9-27, May.
    13. Alessia Contu & Hugh Willmott, 2003. "Re-Embedding Situatedness: The Importance of Power Relations in Learning Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(3), pages 283-296, June.
    14. 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.
    15. Scott D. N. Cook & John Seely Brown, 1999. "Bridging Epistemologies: The Generative Dance Between Organizational Knowledge and Organizational Knowing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(4), pages 381-400, August.
    16. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1993. "Knowledge of the Firm and the Evolutionary Theory of the Multinational Corporation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 24(4), pages 625-645, December.
    17. Huang, Tai-Yuan & Hu, Jer-San & Chen, Kuo-Chia, 2008. "The influence of market and product knowledge resource embeddedness on the international mergers of advertising agencies: The case-study approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 587-599, October.
    18. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1995. "Knowledge, Market Failure and the Multinational Enterprise: A Reply," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(2), pages 417-426, June.
    19. Yeung, Henry Wai-chung, 1995. "Qualitative personal interviews in international business research: Some lessons from a study of Hong Kong Transnational Corporations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 313-339, September.
    20. Lindstrand, Angelika & Eriksson, Kent & Sharma, D. Deo, 2009. "The perceived usefulness of knowledge supplied by foreign client networks," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 26-37, February.
    21. Peter J. Buckley & Martin J. Carter, 1999. "Managing Cross-Border Complementary Knowledge," International Studies of Management & Organization, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 80-104, March.
    22. Paul R. Carlile, 2002. "A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 442-455, August.
    23. 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.
    24. von Hippel, Eric & Tyre, Marcie J., 1995. "How learning by doing is done: problem identification in novel process equipment," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 1-12, January.
    25. Edwin Hutchins, 1991. "Organizing Work by Adaptation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 14-39, February.
    26. Becker-Ritterspach, Florian A.A., 2006. "The social constitution of knowledge integration in MNEs: A theoretical framework," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 358-377, September.
    27. Hashai, Niron, 2009. "Knowledge transfer considerations and the future of the internalization hypothesis," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 257-264, June.
    28. 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.
    29. 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.
    30. Beth A. Bechky, 2003. "Sharing Meaning Across Occupational Communities: The Transformation of Understanding on a Production Floor," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(3), pages 312-330, June.
    31. Eriksson, Kent & Chetty, Sylvie, 2003. "The effect of experience and absorptive capacity on foreign market knowledge," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(6), pages 673-695, December.
    32. Duanmu, Jing-Lin & Fai, Felicia M., 2007. "A processual analysis of knowledge transfer: From foreign MNEs to Chinese suppliers," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 449-473, August.
    33. Wanda J. Orlikowski, 2002. "Knowing in Practice: Enacting a Collective Capability in Distributed Organizing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 249-273, June.
    34. Hong, Jacky F.L. & Snell, Robin Stanley & Easterby-Smith, Mark, 2006. "Cross-cultural influences on organizational learning in MNCS: The case of Japanese companies in China," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 408-429, December.
    35. Chetty, S. & Eriksson, K., 2002. "Mutual commitment and experiential knowledge in mature international business relationship," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 305-324, June.
    36. Akira Takeishi, 2001. "Bridging inter‐ and intra‐firm boundaries: management of supplier involvement in automobile product development," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 403-433, May.
    37. Anthony Ferner & Phil Almond & Trevor Colling, 2005. "Institutional theory and the cross-national transfer of employment policy: the case of ‘workforce diversity’ in US multinationals," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(3), pages 304-321, May.
    38. Asakawa, Kazuhiro & Lehrer, Mark, 2003. "Managing local knowledge assets globally: the role of regional innovation relays," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 31-42, February.
    39. Mari Sako, 2004. "Supplier development at Honda, Nissan and Toyota: comparative case studies of organizational capability enhancement," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 13(2), pages 281-308, April.
    40. Jacky F. L. Hong & Mark Easterby‐Smith & Robin Stanley Snell, 2006. "Transferring Organizational Learning Systems to Japanese Subsidiaries in China," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5), pages 1027-1058, July.
    41. Minbaeva, Dana B., 2008. "HRM practices affecting extrinsic and intrinsic motivation of knowledge receivers and their effect on intra-MNC knowledge transfer," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 703-713, December.
    42. John Seely Brown & Paul Duguid, 1991. "Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 40-57, February.
    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. 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.
    2. Tatli, Ahu & Vassilopoulou, Joana & Özbilgin, Mustafa, 2013. "An unrequited affinity between talent shortages and untapped female potential: The relevance of gender quotas for talent management in high growth potential economies of the Asia Pacific region," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 539-553.
    3. Scott-Kennel, Joanna & Saittakari, Iiris, 2020. "Sourcing or sharing in MNE networks? National headquarters and foreign subsidiaries as knowledge conduits in SMOPECs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).
    4. Kasper, Helmut & Lehrer, Mark & Mühlbacher, Jürgen & Müller, Barbara, 2013. "On the different “worlds” of intra-organizational knowledge management: Understanding idiosyncratic variation in MNC cross-site knowledge-sharing practices," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 326-338.
    5. Liming Zhao & Haihong Zhang & Wenqing Wu, 2019. "Cooperative knowledge creation in an uncertain network environment based on a dynamic knowledge supernetwork," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(2), pages 657-685, May.
    6. Santangelo, Grazia Domenica, 2012. "The tension of information sharing: Effects on subsidiary embeddedness," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 180-195.
    7. 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.
    8. Heizmann, Helena & Fee, Anthony & Gray, Sidney J., 2018. "Intercultural Knowledge Sharing Between Expatriates and Host-country Nationals in Vietnam: A Practice-based Study of Communicative Relations and Power Dynamics," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 16-32.
    9. Esther Tippmann & Pamela Sharkey Scott & Vincent Mangematin, 2014. "Subsidiary managers’ knowledge mobilizations: Unpacking emergent knowledge flows," Post-Print hal-00864324, HAL.
    10. Streltsova, E., 2022. "Global flows of technological knowledge: The position of Russia," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 57(5), pages 39-54.
    11. Moore, Fiona, 2012. "Identity, knowledge and strategy in the UK subsidiary of an Anglo-German automobile manufacturer," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 281-292.
    12. Scott-Kennel, Joanna & Giroud, Axele, 2015. "MNEs and FSAs: Network knowledge, strategic orientation and performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 94-107.
    13. Hallin, Christina & Holm, Ulf & Sharma, Dharma Deo, 2011. "Embeddedness of innovation receivers in the multinational corporation: Effects on business performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 362-373, June.
    14. Sajjad Jasimuddin & Jun Li & Nicholas Perdikis, 2015. "Linkage between geographic space and knowledge transfer by multinational enterprises: a structural equation approach," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 54(3), pages 769-795, May.
    15. Li, Shenxue & Easterby-Smith, Mark & Lyles, Marjorie A. & Clark, Timothy, 2016. "Tapping the power of local knowledge: A local-global interactive perspective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 641-653.
    16. repec:hal:gemwpa:hal-00864324 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. 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).
    18. Michailova, Snejina & Minbaeva, Dana B., 2012. "Organizational values and knowledge sharing in multinational corporations: The Danisco case," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 59-70.
    19. George O. White & Orhun Guldiken & Thomas A. Hemphill & Wu He & Mehdi Sharifi Khoobdeh, 2016. "Trends in International Strategic Management Research From 2000 to 2013: Text Mining and Bibliometric Analyses," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 35-65, February.
    20. 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.
    21. 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. Hong, Jacky F.L. & Nguyen, Thang V., 2009. "Knowledge embeddedness and the transfer mechanisms in multinational corporations," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 347-356, October.
    2. Hong, Jacky F.L. & Snell, Robin Stanley & Easterby-Smith, Mark, 2006. "Cross-cultural influences on organizational learning in MNCS: The case of Japanese companies in China," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 408-429, December.
    3. Gabriel Szulanski & Dimo Ringov & Robert J. Jensen, 2016. "Overcoming Stickiness: How the Timing of Knowledge Transfer Methods Affects Transfer Difficulty," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 304-322, April.
    4. 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.
    5. Fortwengel, Johann & Gutierrez Huerter O, Gabriela & Kostova, Tatiana, 2023. "Three decades of research on practice transfer in multinational firms: Past contributions and future opportunities," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(3).
    6. Su, Cong & Kong, Lingshuang & Ciabuschi, Francesco & Holm, Ulf, 2020. "Demand and willingness for knowledge transfer in springboard subsidiaries of Chinese multinationals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 297-309.
    7. Cher-Hung Tseng, 2015. "Determinants of MNC’s Knowledge Inflows to Subsidiaries: A Perspective on Internalization Advantages," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 119-150, February.
    8. Duanmu, Jing-Lin & Fai, Felicia M., 2007. "A processual analysis of knowledge transfer: From foreign MNEs to Chinese suppliers," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 449-473, August.
    9. McGuinness, Martina & Demirbag, Mehmet & Bandara, Sasanka, 2013. "Towards a multi-perspective model of reverse knowledge transfer in multinational enterprises: A case study of Coats plc," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 179-195.
    10. 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.
    11. Caccamo, Marta & Pittino, Daniel & Tell, Fredrik, 2023. "Boundary objects, knowledge integration, and innovation management: A systematic review of the literature," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    12. Martha S. Feldman & Wanda J. Orlikowski, 2011. "Theorizing Practice and Practicing Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1240-1253, October.
    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. Andersson, Ulf & Dasí, Àngels & Mudambi, Ram & Pedersen, Torben, 2016. "Technology, innovation and knowledge: The importance of ideas and international connectivity," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 153-162.
    15. 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.
    16. Nicolai J. Foss & Torben Pedersen, 2019. "Microfoundations in international management research: The case of knowledge sharing in multinational corporations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(9), pages 1594-1621, December.
    17. Zhou, Abby Jingzi & Fey, Carl & Yildiz, H. Emre, 2020. "Fostering integration through HRM practices: An empirical examination of absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer in cross-border M&As," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. Torsten Ringberg & Markus Reihlen, 2008. "Towards a Socio‐Cognitive Approach to Knowledge Transfer," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 912-935, July.

    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:18:y:2009:i:6:p:539-554. 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.