Transfer of organizational practices in an MNC - A case study at SKF

Abstract

As the business environment of the contemporary MNC is getting more complex due to changing market dynamics, the MNC have to adopt to this in order to stay competitive. Therefore, transfer of organizational practices and knowledge is an important capability for the competitiveness of an MNC. Facilitators and barriers for knowledge transfer is a well-researched topic, where multiple studies have been conducted to identify how these influences the transfer process. However, different aspects of knowledge transfer are too often explored in isolation and the lack of holistic interpretations of the results leads to limited managerial insights and understanding. This study considers how an organization transfer organizational practices and related knowledge to its subsidiaries, which has been conducted through an extensive case study at SKF. The study identifies that creating a sense of urgency prior to transferring the practices facilitate the process, where socialization seems to be particularly useful for achieving this. However, the motivational disposition to implement the practice in the recipient unit and the characteristics of the practice seem to affect the transfer process, especially when it comes to the perception of the practice in the receiving unit.