EMNC knowledge transfer - A case study on knowledge transfer between an Indian EMNC and an acquired developed country firm

Abstract

The way in which organizations capture and transfer knowledge has been a rather extensively covered area within the IB research field in the past two decades. What has been a focal point within the area of knowledge transfer is how multinational corporations manage to facilitate knowledge transfer between individuals within the organization, but also how knowledge is transferred between organizational units, often within a cross-cultural or international context. What to a large extent has not been covered in the knowledge transfer research is how EMNCs from India manage the transfer of knowledge, and especially how they manage knowledge transfer between themselves and a developed country subsidiary. In order to explore this gap in knowledge a single case study analysis has been conducted, within the context where an Indian EMNC is managing knowledge transfer between itself and a Swedish subsidiary.

The findings from this study show that relative to the traditional view held within the research area, where EMNCs act as strategic seekers of knowledge from a developed country subsidiary, they also act as strategic transmitters of knowledge. In the context of this case study this means specifically that the EMNC has tried to impose its established business processes and documentation systems into the developed country firm, which in turn has resulted in a number of setbacks for the organization as a whole. In the context of the developed country firm it has suffered diminishing profitability due to an excessive administrative burden, and in the context of the EMNC it has not been able to receive business critical knowledge from the subsidiary.