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1 – 10 of over 59000Ahmed A.F.M. Hassan and Johann Fortwengel
The transfer of organizational practices in multinational enterprises (MNEs), typically from the headquarters to foreign subsidiaries, has been a key theme in international…
Abstract
Purpose
The transfer of organizational practices in multinational enterprises (MNEs), typically from the headquarters to foreign subsidiaries, has been a key theme in international business (IB) literature. Research on this topic increasingly acknowledges the important role of organizational actors external to the focal MNE. Furthermore, there is a growing interest in the microfoundational underpinnings of practice transfer as an important phenomenon in IB. This paper aims to bring together these two emerging research trends to outline an exciting and important avenue for further research.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper. This paper builds on prior empirical research to theorize different types of involvement of external organizational actors in the transfer process. This study further identifies specific mechanisms that lead to transfer outcomes in terms of practice adaptation.
Findings
The authors develop conceptual arguments regarding the role of external actors in the microfoundations of transfer. The involvement of external organizational actors can be either direct or indirect, and it can occur in the initiation stage at headquarters level and/or in the implementation stage at subsidiary level. The authors theorize how the involvement of external organizational actors in the transfer process shapes practice adaptation as a key outcome. This study summarizes the theorization with the help of propositions, and this study also identifies a set of research questions that can guide future research on this increasingly important topic.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by developing a research agenda to open up the black box regarding the role of external actors in the microfoundations of practice transfer in MNEs.
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Transferring organizational practices requires an understanding not only of what is being transferred but also of what is needed to ensure that the transfer is successful. In line…
Abstract
Purpose
Transferring organizational practices requires an understanding not only of what is being transferred but also of what is needed to ensure that the transfer is successful. In line with this thinking, the purpose of this study is to examine three factors that are crucial parts of this mechanism: use of teams, culture, and capacity.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a quantitative approach of a Fortune 500 company involved in energy supply. Data are gathered using survey methodology with items drawn from previous research. Hierarchical ordinary least squares are the methodology employed to analyze the data.
Findings
The study highlights how using teams, employing a collaborative culture, and possessing capacity after accounting for the control variables affected the knowledge transfer process and provides some insights into ways in which the process can be better managed.
Research limitations/implications
Using this framework, it becomes problematic to separate individual and collective learning.
Practical implications
The paper reinforces the idea that building a collaborative environment in which sharing and seeing knowledge as an organizational asset are essential to success.
Originality/value
The study reinforces the notion that individuals are being asked to make a major change in their approach to the management of knowledge: rather than as an individual asset to be exploited, it should be seen as an organizational asset. This requires that employees change the way they do things. Furthermore, knowledge is not an asset that can be easily discarded and replaced. As a consequence, organizations need to recognize that knowledge management can only be successful if a collaborative environment is created and the organization builds on what it already knows.
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Florian Becker‐Ritterspach, Ayse Saka‐Helmhout and Jasper J. Hotho
With a few exceptions, the mainstream literature on learning in multinational enterprises (MNEs) has shown little concern for the transformational nature and the social…
Abstract
Purpose
With a few exceptions, the mainstream literature on learning in multinational enterprises (MNEs) has shown little concern for the transformational nature and the social constitution of learning. This paper aims to address this gap by drawing on Scandinavian institutionalism, social learning perspectives, and comparative institutionalism.
Design/methodology/approach
A comparative case study of two subsidiaries of the same MNE was conducted. The subsidiaries received similar practices from headquarters (HQ) but displayed contrasting learning outcomes.
Findings
It is shown that learning outcomes differed based on the varying extent to which practices were translated, which depends on the participation of local actors. The difference in participation pattern, in turn, is rooted in differences in the institutional context of the two subsidiaries.
Research limitations/implications
It is recognized that apart from institutional influences, organizational idiosyncrasies may be at work. In addition, the paper briefly considers the extent to which the notion of contrasting forms of capitalism is still useful when comparing the German and British institutional contexts.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the importance of involving employees in the translation of new practices. A challenge for MNEs is that learning of new practices can differ by institutional context. Where enabling institutional conditions are absent, conscious effort may be needed to ensure employee participation.
Originality/value
This paper highlights that MNE practice transfer rests on the translation of the practice content to the local context, and that subsidiary‐level learning processes may be institutionally embedded, thus establishing a link between subsidiary learning and the macro‐level context. As such, this paper both illustrates the value of social learning perspectives and the relevance of the work of institutionalists for understanding MNE learning processes.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on HRM in MNCs from a knowledge transfer perspective, to identify some of the key weaknesses in extant research and to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on HRM in MNCs from a knowledge transfer perspective, to identify some of the key weaknesses in extant research and to outline a future research agenda.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper key contributions to the literature on HRM in MNCs are reviewed and discussed in connection with the knowledge transfer literature. The review and discussion culminate in the presentation of an agenda for future research.
Findings
The paper finds that, by viewing global HRM integration in MNCs as a process of knowledge transfer, three weaknesses in the extant literature are identified: inadequate consideration of HRM's knowledge characteristics at different levels within the organisation – the “what”; insufficient attention paid to the organisational mechanisms through which HRM is transferred – the “how”; and a lack of rigour in assessing when HRM transfer can be viewed as successful – the “when”.
Originality/value
In viewing global HRM integration as a process of knowledge transfer, the paper extends the HRM‐knowledge link and provides an alternative point of departure from which to study HRM in MNCs. In highlighting some of the weaknesses in extant research and in proposing a research agenda, it is also hoped that this paper can assist other scholars in making incremental improvements to a field reportedly in need of further theoretical development.
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Nada Rejeb‐Khachlouf, Lassaâd Mezghani and Bertrand Quélin
The purpose of this paper is to test the transfer of good practices under the effect of various aspects of personal networks. Whereas, the majority of former work considers a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the transfer of good practices under the effect of various aspects of personal networks. Whereas, the majority of former work considers a direct effect of networks on knowledge transfer, the authors examined two intermediate mechanisms: the access to strategic resources and the individual's absorptive capacity.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was used to collect data, via a face‐to‐face questionnaire with key individuals in small and medium entreprises members of consortia in Tunisia. Data were analysed with a structural equations approach, based on partial least squared‐path modelling techniques.
Findings
Results emphasize the impact of network size, strength of ties and absorptive capacity on the strategic resource access and the impact of indirect ties, strength and range of ties on the absorptive capacity. Moreover, while absorptive capacity positively impacts good practice transfer, no support was found to the effect of resource access.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this study concerns the measuring of good practice transfer, since in literature there are often imprecise proxies. Also, while the authors have investigated the global impact of strategic resources, future research needs to treat them separately. Finally, a longitudinal study allows better capture of the evolution of the phenomenon studied.
Practical implications
Top management and directors at a consortium level need to pay careful attention to the social context within which knowledge transfer efforts occur. Resources exchanged and the absorptive capacity developed through social interactions must be designed to increase knowledge flows between firms.
Originality/value
The paper links two bodies of research often studied separately in inter‐organizational research: literature on social networks and that on inter‐organizational learning. It is hoped that the paper contributes to a cross‐fertilization of the two fields.
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Desiderio J. García-Almeida and Alicia Bolívar-Cruz
This paper aims to identify the main factors affecting the success of the knowledge replication process in service firms when new units/outlets are created or acquired.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the main factors affecting the success of the knowledge replication process in service firms when new units/outlets are created or acquired.
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative approach of the study is based on a survey to the first general managers of new hotels integrated in Spanish hotel chains that implement a strategy of knowledge replication.
Findings
Transfer experience in the region; compatibility between the underlying cultural context of the knowledge and the recipients’ culture; recipients’ absorptive capacity; source’s and recipients’ motivation; and lack of adaptation in the transfer routines are key factors that influence several aspects of knowledge replication success in service firms.
Research limitations/implications
From an academic point of view, this work identifies the determinants of success in replication processes. Moreover, two dimensions in knowledge replication success have been identified: a functional dimension and an economic one. Industry and survey limitations must be considered.
Practical implications
Organizations that face a growth process where they want to replicate their corporate knowledge should consider several aspects that seem to be determinants of success in those projects.
Originality/value
Despite the prevalence of replication-based growth strategies in the service sector, there is a lack of research analyses about this phenomenon in the academic literature. The empirical-based research on knowledge transfer and service firms’ growth is scarce and fragmented. This work provides an integrated view of factors affecting knowledge replication success in new organizational units from an empirical quantitative approach.
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Chin Wei Chong, Siong Choy Chong and Geok Chew Gan
The purpose of this paper is to build upon Chen et al.'s work by investigating inter‐organizational knowledge transfer needs and practices among small and medium enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to build upon Chen et al.'s work by investigating inter‐organizational knowledge transfer needs and practices among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which have received relatively little research attention to date.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was conducted on SMEs which have been accorded the Multimedia Super Corridor Malaysia status. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.
Findings
In total, nine important areas have been the focus of this study, i.e. the importance of external knowledge; the extent to which external knowledge is more important than internal knowledge to organizational success; areas in which insufficient knowledge contributes to costly errors or mistakes in the SMEs; SMEs' involvement in knowledge transfer activities; number of social networks involved; SMEs' perceptions about networks; use of tools and technologies to transfer inter‐organizational knowledge; constraints of inter‐organizational knowledge transfer; and SMEs' effectiveness in leveraging knowledge. The data collected from 70 owners/managers of SMEs suggest that to some extent external knowledge is believed to be an important need by the enterprises.
Research limitations/implications
The small sample size raises the question of generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
Overall, the empirical findings point to the need for the SMEs to pursue inter‐organizational knowledge transfer practices.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first to address the inter‐organizational knowledge transfer needs in Malaysian SMEs.
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Toke Bjerregaard, Mai S. Linneberg and Jakob Lauring
The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of how the transfer and adoption of headquarters (HQ)-mandated work practices are shaped by ongoing struggles among the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of how the transfer and adoption of headquarters (HQ)-mandated work practices are shaped by ongoing struggles among the multiple actors of a subsidiary. This paper suggests an alternative perspective for theorizing and researching the management practices and structures that emerge in the face of HQ demands for divergent practice change in subsidiaries, namely, a theory of practice approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports the findings of an ethnographic field study in a UK subsidiary of a multinational corporation based in Denmark.
Findings
The study provides a relevant contribution by demonstrating how the degree of adoption of alternative, HQ-mandated work systems undergoes dramatic changes over time due to socially dynamic negotiations and struggles between interest groups in a subsidiary.
Research limitations/implications
A practice theoretical approach unveils the underlying social micro-dynamics that shape the degree to which employees in subsidiaries “internalize”, actively sustain or disrupt divergent practices representing a given contextual rationale.
Originality/value
The practice perspective provides a way for understanding how the practices and rationales that emerge locally in response to HQ-demands are under ongoing (re)reconstruction. It responds to calls for research on why and how contextual rationales, institutional or cultural features, actively are made salient, polarized or convergent, in conflictual practice transfer processes due to local contingencies.
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This research study, which is based on social information‐processing theory, proposes examining factors that affect intra‐organizational efforts at promoting the successful…
Abstract
Purpose
This research study, which is based on social information‐processing theory, proposes examining factors that affect intra‐organizational efforts at promoting the successful transfer of best practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data collected from multiple respondents in a Fortune 500 company whose primary line of business is electricity generation, the author examines three impediments to knowledge transfer: trust, provider reputation, and recipient reputation.
Findings
The findings indicate that these factors provide a signaling effect to employees and play a critical role in the transfer of best practices. These findings reinforce the notion that the successful transfer of best practices is highly dependent on the willingness of employees to share. More important, achieving knowledge transfer objectives is easier said than done. Trust and reputation develop over time, are closely guarded by its representatives, and must be nurtured and protected.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of this study is that its generalizability may be limited because it is a single organization study. However, it does have significant practical implications, as it reinforces the need to create an appropriate environment for employees to engage in these activities.
Originality/value
The findings reinforce the need to create an appropriate environment for employees to engage in activities, and the notion that knowledge management is critical to success, but its management requires specific approaches that do not apply to other resources.
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Dorota Leszczyńska and Erick Pruchnicki
A multinational company (MNC) looking to locate within a cluster is mainly interested in gaining access to scarce and highly valuable tacit knowledge. The transfer of such…
Abstract
Purpose
A multinational company (MNC) looking to locate within a cluster is mainly interested in gaining access to scarce and highly valuable tacit knowledge. The transfer of such resources first requires sharing a certain degree of architectural and specific knowledge. This paper aims to examine the transfer of systemic technological expertise (specific tacit knowledge) that is incorporated into organisational practices (architectural knowledge). To quantify the level of knowledge transfer involved, the present study defines the architectural distance between the MNC and the cluster.
Design/methodology/approach
The mathematical expression of acquisition performance is inferred from a conceptual study that formulates hypotheses regarding the impact of these variables on knowledge transfer. The MNC chooses its location in such a way as to maximise this performance.
Findings
Applying a mathematical model to knowledge transfer between two of the MNC units helps to determine if the locally acquired knowledge could benefit other units of the MNC.
Research limitations/implications
The present study defines the architectural distance between the MNC and the cluster. This architectural distance is defined by a vector composed of social, organisational, cultural, institutional, technological and geographic distances between the new acquisition and its network of local partners, on the one hand, and the MNC, on the other. Knowledge transfer also depends on the business players’ trust and motivation. Further research through a quantitative study would be useful to improve the links between the proposed mathematical model and the efficiency of an MNC’s location within a cluster.
Practical implications
The solution to the optimisation problem allows to put forward a simple decision criterion to assist a manager who has to face the problem of an optimal location choice.
Originality/value
First, this study contributes to a better understanding of how knowledge transfer effects may interact with cluster effects, while explaining a subsidiary’s performance with regard to location. Second, it provides an interpretation of the concept of knowledge embeddedness by showing that the effective transfer of architectural and specific knowledge involves the prior sharing of a certain amount of this knowledge.
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