Business Commons^™

Organizational Structure And Knowledge-Practice Diffusion In The Mnc, Nathaniel C. Lupton, Paul Beamish

Faculty Publications

Purpose

This study aims to examine the interaction of formal and informal cross-border knowledge-sharing practices of four large multinational corporations (MNCs) in aerospace, software, IT services and telecommunications industries. The goal was to determine the manner in which coordination and control mechanisms facilitated knowledge transfer.

Design/methodology/approach

Case studies comprised secondary data and semi-structured interviews with corporate headquarters and subsidiary managers in large MNCs conducted in the USA, Canada, Mexico, China, India and Eastern Europe.

Findings

The primary finding of this study is that knowledge transfer mechanisms arise as a result of both formal and informal structures of the MNC. Formal …

Growing Through Copying: The Negative Consequences Of Innovation On Franchise Network Growth, Robert J. Jensen, Gabriel Szulanski

Faculty Publications

We explore how copying more exactly a blueprint for establishing a franchise network in a new country influences franchising network growth. We test opposing hypotheses using panel data involving the transfer of franchising knowledge to 23 different countries, measuring the degree to which master licensees "copy exactly" knowledge concerning how to grow a network in their country and the effect that their approach has on subsequent network growth. We conclude that a strategy of copying more exactly seems to enhance growth and that the benefits of more exactly replicating knowledge in the first year of a local network's existence persist …

Template Use And The Effectiveness Of Knowledge Transfer, Robert J. Jensen, Gabriel Szulanski

Faculty Publications

This paper is a direct empirical examination of the fundamental claim that use of templates enhances the effectiveness of knowledge transfer. We explore the effect of template use through an eight-year, in-depth field investigation of Rank Xerox (now Xerox Europe). The field investigation covers three sequential transfer efforts in 15 western European countries. The investigation reveals a naturally occurring, repeated-treatment quasi experiment that allows us to test the hypothesis that the use of templates enhances the effectiveness of knowledge transfer. "Observation" in this experiment measure the extent of adoption and performance of the practice at the recipient units. The "treatment" …

Presumptive Adaptation And The Effectiveness Of Knowledge Transfer, Robert J. Jensen, Gabriel Szulanski

Faculty Publications

Adaptation is almost invariably accompanies the cross-border transfer of firm specific practices. The existing literature contains two conflicting approaches to adaptation. The first, more traditional approach, following institutional, motivation, and pragmatic efficiency considerations, presumes that a modified practice can be fine-tuned, stabilized, and institutionalized without consulting a working example and that practices should thus be adapted as quickly as possible to create fit with the local environment. The second approach argues, instead for the need to maintain the diagnostic value of the original practice by adapting cautiously and gradually. In this paper, we report an in-depth field investigation of the …

When And How Trustworthiness Matters: Knowledge Transfer And The Moderating Effect Of Causal Ambiguity, Robert J. Jensen, Gabriel Szulanski, Rossella Cappetta

Faculty Publications

The recognition that better use of existing internal knowledge could enhance survival chances or organizations has spawned substantial interest in the transferability of routinized, experiential learning to additional settings within the organization Previous research has established that trustworthiness of the source enhances such knowledge transfer. More recent work, however, suggests that this may not always be the case. Yet, little systematic attention has been paid to moderating conditions. The major purpose of this paper is to identify a moderator, causal ambiguity, which delineates the conditions as to when and how a recipient's perception of the trustworthiness of a source affects …

Stickiness And The Adaptation Of Organizational Practices In Cross-Border Knowledge Transfers, Robert J. Jensen, Gabriel Szulanski

Faculty Publications

The re-use of organizational practices in multiple locations is a fundamental way MNCs leverage knowledge to seek competitive advantage. Scholars approaching the issue of adaptation from both a market and an institutional perspective argue that, in order to achieve fit with the local environment, some degree of adaptation is advisable with the need for adaptation increasing as the institutional distance between source and recipient locations increases. However, arguments to date have examined the effect of adaptation primarily on a subsidiary's long term performance. A necessary precursor is to understand the effect of adaptation on the transfer process itself as transfer …