The speed of knowledge transfer within multinational enterprises: the role of social capital

Abstract

Purpose -The success of knowledge transfer very much depends on a company's ability to effectively manage their knowledge transfer process. The purpose of this paper is to argue that a critical component in understanding knowledge transfer in the international arena is the speed of that knowledge transfer (and those factors that influence that speed) within a multinational enterprise (MNE). Design/methodology/approach -In this paper, social capital theory is used to argue that social capital is related to the speed of knowledge transfer within an MNE. The three dimensions of social capital, i.e. relational, dimensional, and cognitive, facilitate the transfer process and effect the rapidity of technology transfer. Findings -The role of knowledge transfer speed in MNEs knowledge management has been neglected and, yet, the speed of knowledge transfer is critical for MNE organizations to build or maintain their competitive advantage. A critical component in understanding knowledge transfer in the international arena is the speed of that knowledge transfer (and those factors that influence that speed) between different units. Originality/value -This study examines social capital to better understand knowledge management at the intra-firm level of an MNE. The success of knowledge transfer very much depends on a company's ability to effectively manage that knowledge transfer process. Using social capital theory, we argued that the three dimensions of social capital (relational, dimensional, and cognitive) are related to the speed of knowledge transfer from the parent company to the foreign subsidiary.

The impact of social capital on competitive advantage

“…Based on the previous literature, this study defined collective learning as an interactive process of accumulating knowledge from different local resources . Social capital facilitate collective action for mutual benefit (Woolcock, 1998), making it a powerful factor that facilitates knowledge resource exchange (Chen and Lovvorn, 2011), and increases learning power (Kraatz, 1998;Capello and Faggian, 2005;Lorenzen, 2007). Several studies have discussed bridging and the bonding of social capital (Putnam, 1993(Putnam, , 2000Eklinder-Frick et al, 2014;Hewapathirana, 2014).…”

Examining the impact of organizational culture on social capital in a research based organizations

“…So far, numerous studies are conducted on the role of social capital in organization and its impact on important organizational variables. Of such researches, we can point out the studies that investigating the impact of social capital on knowledge processes (Chen and Lovvorn, 2011;Chiu et al, 2006;Mu et al, 2008;Lang, 2004;Ratten and Suseno, 2006;Weber and Weber, 2007), creating competitive advantage (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998), performance (Clopton, 2011;Yang et al, 2011), success (Simpson, 2002), innovation (Petrou and Daskalopoulou, 2013), income (Behtoui and Neergaard, 2012), human resource performance management (Truss and Gill, 2009) and entrepreneurship (Monnavarian and Ashena, 2009). It indicates the importance of social capital and its role in organization.…”

“…Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) define social capital as total potential and de facto resources in the network of individual relations or social unit emanated from it and its accessibility is possible through it. If one organization can increase its social capital, in addition to more income (Behtoui and Neergaard, 2012), it will achieve many other advantages (Chen and Lovvorn, 2011;Clopton, 2011;Monnavarian and Ashena, 2009;Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998;Petrou and Daskalopoulou, 2013;Simpson, 2002;Truss and Gill, 2009). The basic question is that how organizations can manage their social capital?…”

Patterns of technology transfer among the Arab Gulf States: opportunities and challenges

“…In fact, MNEs are regarded as the major driver of R&D in the world (Fu et al, 2011). Currently, estimated annual flows of FDI via MNEs exceed $232 billion and the total stock exceeds $6 billion (OECD, 2010;Chen and Lovvorn, 2011).…”

“…In fact, MNEs are regarded as the major driver of R&D in the world (Fu et al, 2011). Currently, estimated annual flows of FDI via MNEs exceed $232 billion and the total stock exceeds $6 billion (OECD, 2010;Chen and Lovvorn, 2011). Previous literature generally distinguished two major channels along which technology diffusion can occur between MNEs and host country firms (Javorcik, 2010;Gorg and Greenaway, 2003;Blalock and Gertler, 2009).…”