Multinational corporations (MNCs) are increasingly competing on their ability to utilise knowledge sourced from various parts of the world. In order to draw full advantage of a multinational presence, harnessing the potential of peripheral knowledge assets is a main strategic imperative.This thesis examines an activity that is central to MNCs use of such peripheral knowledge assets, namely the transfer of knowledge from one subunit to another. The knowledge transfer problem is approached in two ways: the extent to which subunits engage in knowledge transfer to other units in the organisation and the performance of knowledge transfer projects. The evidence provided in this thesis is derived from the analyses of quantitative data collected in two separate projects.A central argument concerns the importance of studying performance of knowledge transfer projects. Knowledge transfer is seen as distinct and purposeful projects…
Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Research questions
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1. Knowledge transfer in the MNC
2.1.1. Subsidiaries or subunits?
2.2. Organizing the concept of ‘knowledge transfer’
2.2.1. Generic types of knowledge transfer
2.2.2. Knowledge
2.3. Unpacking the flow: knowledge transfer performance
2.3.1. Dimensions of knowledge transfer performance
2.4. Knowledge transfer in this thesis
3. THREE CHALLENGES TO KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
3.1. Cognitive challenges
3.2. Willingness
3.3. Ability
3.4. Outlining some consequences of the framework
4. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS
4.1. Paper I
4.2. Paper II
4.3. Paper III
4.4. Paper IV
5. THE EMPIRICAL STUDIES
5.1. Study 1 – Integration in the MNC
5.1.1. Sampling procedure and data collection process
5.1.2. Basic descriptive statistics of the integration data
5.2. Study 2 – The TIME-project
5.2.1. Sampling procedure and data collection process
5.2.2. Basic descriptive statistics of the TIME data
5.2.3. Additional descriptive statistic
6. CONCLUSIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
6.1. Suggestions for future research
References
Appendix
Author: Persson, Magnus
Source: Uppsala University Library
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