Knowledge Transfer Performance of Multinational Companies: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Knowledge Transfer Mechanisms in Multinational Companies

Abstract

Knowledge is ascribed a key role when explaining the existence and thegrowth of multinational companies (MNCs). The effective disseminationthroughout the MNC organization of valuable knowledge acquired by its localaffiliates is seen as an important source of competitive advantage. Knowledgediffers in characteristics and so do the available transfer mechanism. As such,it is essential that the MNC employs the mechanism of transfer that suits thespecific knowledge characteristics. The use of unsuitable transfer mechanismsmay cause loss of knowledge in the process of transmission or may involveunnecessarily high communication costs – both with potentially negative effectson the performance of the MNC.