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1 – 5 of 5The aim of this paper is to shed light on how subsidiary willingness to transfer knowledge is influenced by formal control mechanisms from headquarters, and how this affects…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to shed light on how subsidiary willingness to transfer knowledge is influenced by formal control mechanisms from headquarters, and how this affects knowledge transfer performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study highlights and tests the influence of two formal control mechanisms: formal demand to transfer knowledge from headquarters, and performance evaluation system related to knowledge transfer. This is tested by subjecting a dataset of 149 knowledge transfer processes to a two‐stage least square regression analysis.
Findings
The robust results indicate that formal evaluation systems related to subsidiary knowledge transfer increases subsidiary willingness to transfer, and subsequently knowledge transfer performance, whereas formal demand by headquarters to share knowledge show a negative but not significant impact.
Practical implications
The results highlight the strategic importance of eliminating motivational barriers in order to enhance knowledge transfer performance. By using outbound knowledge as a criterion when evaluating the subsidiary, managers can increase transfer performance by fostering subsidiary willingness to perform knowledge transfer.
Originality/value
The findings indicate that KM in terms of subsidiary transfer willingness and transfer performance can be fostered and enhanced by the introduction of formal evaluation systems related to knowledge sharing. The results also contribute by revealing that formal control mechanisms differ in their degree of influence in terms of fostering subsidiary transfer willingness and transfer performance.
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Katarina Lagerström, Roger Schweizer and Johan Jakobsson
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature discussing the internationalization of research and development (R&D) among multinational companies by proposing a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature discussing the internationalization of research and development (R&D) among multinational companies by proposing a process description to capture the development of local R&D capabilities in subsidiaries.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors build the conceptualization not only on the prevailing literature on resource management, subsidiary evolution and subsidiary initiatives, but also on empirical observations.
Findings
A process in four phases is distinguished to describe the evolution of R&D capabilities in subsidiaries: the identification of an opportunity in the host country that triggers the establishment of local R&D capabilities; the gathering of support – from the host country and from MNC internally – and resources; the bundling of the resources to build capabilities; and finally the leveraging of the capabilities.
Research limitations/implications
By offering a conceptualization of the process through which subsidiaries build R&D capabilities, the authors contribute to the literature on R&D internationalization that hitherto has neglected the central role played by subsidiaries and the fact that a subsidiary needs to develop and manage resources and capabilities to change its R&D related role and/or mandate within the MNC.
Originality/value
By providing a process perspective on MNCs internationalization of R&D focussing on the development and management of R&D capabilities at subsidiaries, the paper adds a more dynamic dimension to the previously rather static view on R&D internationalization.
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Josina Vink, Bo Edvardsson, Katarina Wetter-Edman and Bård Tronvoll
The purpose of this paper is to analyze how service design practices reshape mental models to enable innovation. Mental models are actors’ assumptions and beliefs that guide their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze how service design practices reshape mental models to enable innovation. Mental models are actors’ assumptions and beliefs that guide their behavior and interpretation of their environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper offers a conceptual framework for innovation in service ecosystems through service design that connects the macro view of innovation as changing institutional arrangements with the micro view of innovation as reshaping actors’ mental models. Furthermore, through an 18-month ethnographic study of service design practices in the context of healthcare, how service design practices reshape mental models to enable innovation is investigated.
Findings
This research highlights that service design reshapes mental models through the practices of sensing surprise, perceiving multiples and embodying alternatives. This paper delineates the enabling conditions for these practices to occur, such as coaching, diverse participation and supportive physical materials.
Research limitations/implications
This study brings forward the underappreciated role of actors’ mental models in innovation. It highlights that innovation in service ecosystems is not simply about actors making changes to their external context but also actors shifting their own assumptions and beliefs.
Practical implications
This paper offers insights for service managers and service designers interested in supporting innovation on how to catalyze shifts in actors’ mental models by creating the conditions for specific service design practices.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to shed light on the central role of actors’ mental models in innovation and identify the service design practices that reshape mental models.
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Roger Schweizer, Katarina Lagerström and Johan Jakobsson
The article aims to explain how the drivers of subsidiary evolution influence a multinational company's (MNC) research and development (R&D) subsidiary's evolution over time.
Abstract
Purpose
The article aims to explain how the drivers of subsidiary evolution influence a multinational company's (MNC) research and development (R&D) subsidiary's evolution over time.
Design/methodology/approach
The article draws on insights from a longitudinal comparative case study of three Swedish MNCs' Indian R&D units.
Findings
The study shows that the evolution of R&D units is a triangular showdown among headquarter assignments, local market constraints, and opportunities, and that subsidiary choice is an important driver of both mandated extension and stagnation. We summarize our findings in various propositions that emphasize different drivers over time and that highlight the strong impact of a subsidiary's understanding of the corporate immune system on the evolution of that subsidiary's R&D mandate.
Research limitations/implications
Drawing on the common limitations of a case study approach, further research is needed to test the suggested propositions with larger samples, ideally with subsidiaries in other emerging and developed markets.
Practical implications
The study illustrates the risks involved for subsidiary managers when pushing an R&D mandate-related initiative too far and provoking the corporate immune system. For headquarters management, the study highlights the importance of understanding that the development of R&D competence and capability at a subsidiary cannot be guided solely by headquarter assignments and local market characteristics; rather, the subsidiary's initiatives also need to be considered.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature on R&D internationalization by showing how the drivers of subsidiary evolution influence a subsidiary's R&D mandates over time and that subsidiary choice is an important driver of both mandated extension and stagnation.
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Amsalu K. Addis, Simplice Asongu, Zhu Zuping, Hailu Kendie Addis and Eshetu Shifaw
The aim of this study is to examine the motive of China's and India's engagement in African countries particularly in Ethiopia and to address the land grabbing and debt-trap…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine the motive of China's and India's engagement in African countries particularly in Ethiopia and to address the land grabbing and debt-trap diplomacy between Ethiopia and the Asian drivers, which creates challenges across the diverse social, political, economic and ecological contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilises both primary and secondary data. The available literature is also reviewed. The primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and discussions from (1) several authority offices in Ethiopia, sources close to authorities, information-rich informants, employees and (2) perspectives, perceptions and prospects from individual members of society.
Findings
The study unmasks the win-win cooperation strategy from the perspective of the members of society in Ethiopia, evaluates whether China and India have strings attached or land grabbing motives. The study also shows that whether China's and India's move was deliberate, the implications of debt-trap diplomacy and exploitation in Ethiopia are apparent. Additionally, this study investigated several considerable potential threats to Ethiopia that will persist unless significant measures are taken to control the relations with Asian drivers.
Research limitations/implications
Some of the limitations of this paper pertain to the primary data collection process from the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) and other authorities, which was very challenging because people can be punished for talking to journalists or researchers. Furthermore, some investors were not willing to participate in discussions because they were engaged in areas that are not related to their licenses. Many interviewees were also not willing to disclose their names, and the data are not exhaustive in the number of investment projects covered.
Originality/value
This study provides new evidence on the influence of Chinese and Indian investment, aid and trade on Ethiopia's social, political and economic spheres. Additionally, this study contributes to the ongoing debate on land grabbing and debt-trap diplomacy in Ethiopia.
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