MNC knowledge transfer, subsidiary absorptive capacity, and HRM

By Dana B. Minbaeva, Torben Pedersen, Ingmar Björkman, Carl F. Fey, H. Park. 2003

739 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Based on a sample of 169 subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in the USA, Russia, and Finland, this paper investigates the relationship between MNC subsidiary human resource management (HRM) practices, absorptive capacity, and knowledge transfer. First, we examine the relationship between the application of specific HRM practices and the level of the absorptive capacity. Second, we suggest that absorptive capacity should be conceptualized as being comprised of both employees' ability and motivation. Further, results indicate that both ability and motivation (absorptive capacity) are needed to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from other parts of the MNC.

Subfields: Communication, Strategy and Management

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/8603d6c60bd9cc9c334d538f430ff96d81b71210

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Citations in the corpus

Microfoundations of Internal and External Absorptive Capacity Routines (2011, background): “Incentives may be necessary to motivate people to create a general attitude toward knowledge sharing and transfer (Minbaeva et al. 2003), make use of the knowledge they absorb (Baldwin et al.”
International Scientist Mobility and the Locus of Knowledge and Technology Transfer (2011, background): “Minbaeva et al. (2003) define knowledge transfer as a multi-stage process which involves the identification of relevant knowledge, the actual transfer of knowledge, as well as its final use by the receiving organisational unit.”
The role of international assignees' social capital in creating inter-unit intellectual capital: A cross-level model (2009, background): “Knowledge flows, subsidiary power and rent- seeking within MNCs. Journal of International Business Studies, 35(5): 385-406.”
The impact of distance on knowledge transfer effectiveness in multinational corporations (2009, neutral): “Szulanski, 1996; Simonin, 1999; Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000; Tsai, 2001; Minbaeva et al., 2003 ).”
Managing Tacit and Explicit Knowledge Transfer in Ijvs: The Role of Relational Embeddedness and the Impact on Performance (2004, background): “However, in turbulent environments, social aspects may play a critical role in knowledge transfer (Martin and Salomon, 2003b; Minbaeva et al., 2003).”
The impact of team‐member exchange, differentiation, team commitment, and knowledge sharing on R&D project team performance (2011, neutral): “Research has revealed that employee attitudes impact their knowledge-sharing attitude and behavior (Osterloh and Frey, 2000; Hall, 2001; Minbaeva et al., 2003; Kwok and Gao, 2005).”
The relationship between knowledge search strategies and absorptive capacity: A deeper look (2016, background): “This term has been analyzed at different levels: individual (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990; Minbaeva et al., 2003), business unit (Jansen et al., 2005; Szulanski, 1996), and organizational (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990).”
Why and how does shared language affect subsidiary knowledge inflows? A social identity perspective (2015, background): “Whereas previous research has considered the roles of both ability andmotivation for MNE knowledge flows (e.g., Minbaeva et al., 2003), this has not yet been sufficiently reflected in the language literature.”