IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/manint/v48y2008i3d10.1007_s11575-008-0018-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The development and sharing of knowledge by Centres of Excellence and transnational teams: A conceptual framework

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Adenfelt

    (Uppsala University)

  • Katarina Lagerström

    (Göteborg University)

Abstract

Abstract and Key Results This paper develops a conceptual framework addressing the development and sharing of knowledge by Centres of Excellence and transnational teams, which are important organisational mechanisms used by headquarters to manage knowledge processes within multinational corporations. The inherent differences of Centres of Excellence and transnational teams are conceptualised in terms of pre-existing knowledge, practices, interaction and communication. The inherent differences in the organisational mechanisms influence the amount of subsidiary participation and what factors that facilitate and hamper knowledge development and sharing respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:manint:v:48:y:2008:i:3:d:10.1007_s11575-008-0018-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11575-008-0018-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11575-008-0018-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11575-008-0018-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    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. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    3. Sumantra Ghoshal & Nitin Nohria, 1989. "Internal differentiation within multinational corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 323-337, July.
    4. Mary M. Maloney & Mary E. Zellmer-Bruhn, 2006. "Building bridges, windows and cultures: Mediating mechanisms between team heterogeneity and performance in global teams," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 697-720, December.
    5. Gupta, Anil K. & Govindarajan, V., 1994. "Organizing for knowledge flows within MNCs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 443-457, December.
    6. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    7. 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.
    8. Jonathon N. Cummings, 2004. "Work Groups, Structural Diversity, and Knowledge Sharing in a Global Organization," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(3), pages 352-364, March.
    9. 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.
    10. Yadong Luo & Oded Shenkar, 2006. "The multinational corporation as a multilingual community: Language and organization in a global context," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(3), pages 321-339, May.
    11. Birkinshaw, Julian & Holm, Ulf & Thilenius, Peter & Arvidsson, Niklas, 2000. "Consequences of perception gaps in the headquarters-subsidiary relationship," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 321-344, June.
    12. Christophe Van den Bulte & Rudy K. Moenaert, 1998. "The Effects of R&D Team Co-location on Communication Patterns among R&D, Marketing, and Manufacturing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(11-Part-2), pages 1-18, November.
    13. David Schweiger & Tugrul Atamer & Roland Calori, 2003. "Transnational project teams and networks : Making the multinational organization more effective," Post-Print hal-02311650, HAL.
    14. 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.
    15. Anil K. Gupta & Vijay Govindarajan, 2000. "Knowledge flows within multinational corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 473-496, April.
    16. Yamin, Mo. & Otto, Juliet, 2004. "Patterns of knowledge flows and MNE innovative performance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 239-258.
    17. 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.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.
    21. 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.
    22. Stephen Chen & Ronald Geluykens & Chong Ju Choi, 2006. "The importance of language in global teams: A linguistic perspective," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 679-696, December.
    23. Zeybek, Ali Yavuz & O'Brien, Matthew & Griffith, David A., 2003. "Perceived cultural congruence's influence on employed communication strategies and resultant performance: a transitional economy international joint venture illustration," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 499-521, August.
    24. Mudambi, Ram, 2002. "Knowledge management in multinational firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 1-9.
    25. Thomas W Malnight, 1996. "The Transition from Decentralized to Network-Based MNC Structures: An Evolutionary Perspective," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(1), pages 43-65, March.
    26. George P. Huber, 1991. "Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 88-115, February.
    27. Martha L. Maznevski & Nicholas A. Athanassiou, 2006. "Guest editors’ introduction to the focused issue: A new direction for global teams research," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 631-646, December.
    28. 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.
    29. Spender, J. -C., 1994. "Organizational knowledge, collective practice and Penrose rents," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 353-367, December.
    30. 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.
    31. 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.
    32. Schweiger, David M. & Atamer, Tugrul & Calori, Roland, 2003. "Transnational project teams and networks: making the multinational organization more effective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 127-140, May.
    33. Anne Susann Bachmann, 2006. "Melting pot or tossed salad? Implications for designing effective multicultural workgroups," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 721-748, December.
    34. 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.
    35. 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.
    36. 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.
    37. 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.
    38. Phillip M Rosenzweig & Nitin Nohria, 1994. "Influences on Human Resource Management Practices in Multinational Corporations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 25(2), pages 229-251, June.
    39. 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.
    40. Harvey, Michael & Griffith, David & Novicevic, Milorad, 2000. "Development of `timescapes' to effectively manage global inter-organizational relational communications," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 646-662, December.
    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. Anne-Sophie Fernandez & Paul Chiambaretto & Mathieu Chauvet & Juliane Engsig, 2021. "Why do MNEs both make and coopete for innovation?," Post-Print hal-03514740, HAL.
    2. 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.
    3. Fernandez, Anne-Sophie & Chiambaretto, Paul & Chauvet, Mathieu & Engsig, Juliane, 2021. "Why do MNEs both make and coopete for innovation?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    4. Rita Castro & António Carrizo Moreira, 2023. "Mapping Internal Knowledge Transfers in Multinational Corporations," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-30, January.
    5. Randi Lunnan & Youzhen Zhao, 2014. "Regional headquarters in China: Role in MNE knowledge transfer," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 397-422, June.
    6. Lusine Arzumanyan & Ulrike Mayrhofer & Christopher Melin, 2011. "Coordinating R&D activities in multinational companies: towards new tools and practices?," Post-Print halshs-00690220, HAL.
    7. Christopher Melin, 2011. "Le management de projets des firmes multinationales comme un mécanisme de coordination des relations siège-filiales," Post-Print hal-00690839, HAL.

    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. 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.
    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. 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.
    4. 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.
    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. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Pak, Yong Suhk & Ra, Wonchan & Lee, Jong Min, 2015. "An integrated multi-stage model of knowledge management in international joint ventures: Identifying a trigger for knowledge exploration and knowledge harvest," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 180-191.
    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. Esther Tippmann & Pamela Sharkey Scott & Vincent Mangematin, 2014. "Subsidiary managers’ knowledge mobilizations: Unpacking emergent knowledge flows," Post-Print hal-00864324, HAL.
    11. repec:hal:gemwpa:hal-00864324 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. 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.
    15. Williams, Christopher, 2009. "Subsidiary-level determinants of global initiatives in multinational corporations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 92-104, March.
    16. Zeng, Rong & Grøgaard, Birgitte & Steel, Piers, 2018. "Complements or substitutes? A meta-analysis of the role of integration mechanisms for knowledge transfer in the MNE network," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 415-432.
    17. Patrick Regnér & Udo Zander, 2011. "Knowledge and Strategy Creation in Multinational Companies," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(6), pages 821-850, December.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. Thomas Hutzschenreuter & Tanja Matt, 2017. "MNE internationalization patterns, the roles of knowledge stocks, and the portfolio of MNE subsidiaries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(9), pages 1131-1150, December.

    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:spr:manint:v:48:y:2008:i:3:d:10.1007_s11575-008-0018-8. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.