| The Making of High Knowledge Acquirers: Understanding the nature of knowledge enablers in international joint ventures and their foreign parents |
| | Lyles, Marjorie A. | Indiana U., Indianapolis | mlyles@iupui.edu | 3172742558 |
| | Aadne, John Harald | Intellectual Capital Services | johnharald.aadne@intcap.com | 44-171-404-1074 |
| | von Krogh, Georg F. | U. of St. Gallen | georg.vonkrogh@unisg.ch | 0041 71 224 23 59 |
| | This study builds on previous studies addressing the capabilities that IJVs need to acquire
knowledge from their foreign parents (Kogut & Zander, 1996; Lyles & Salk, 1996). It tests which
capabilities or enablers influence the foreign parents and the joint ventures' ability to acquire knowledge.
We posited that enablers such as Knowledge Sharing Commitment, Trust, Control, and Relatedness are
important factors influencing the Foreign Parent's capabilities for teaching and transferring knowledge.
We also posited that enablers such as Knowledge Acquisition Capacity, Interaction within the IJV, and
Performance are important enablers to the IJV's capacity for knowledge acquisition.
The model was tested using data on 176 IJVs collected in 1996. We control for age, industry, and size
through the initial selection. We adopt a measure of knowledge acquisition from Lyles & Salk (1996) and
divide the sample into High Knowledge Acquirers those firms that scored one deviation above the mean
and Low Knowledge Acquirers are those firms that scored one deviation below the mean. Because we are
interested in testing the differences between the groups of High and Low Knowledge Acquirers, the hypotheses
were tested using three sets of logit regression analyses.
Level of trust, parent conflict, and absorptive capacity did not significantly predict knowledge acquisition.
Training by the foreign parent, conflict between IJV--parent, and ownership were significant only at .10. For
the combined model job rotation, relatedness, and receptivity were close to significant. In the combined model,
training, informal communication, and performance were significant.
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| | Keywords: Knowledge Management; Organization Learning; International Joint Ventures |
| Technological Evolution in Multinational Subsidiaries: An Empirical Investigation |
| | Almeida, Paul C. | Georgetown U. | almeidap@gunet.georgetown.edu | 202-687-3822 |
| | Phene, Anupama | U. of Texas, Dallas | anupam@utdallas.edu | 972-437-9350 |
| | This paper explores the evolution of technological capabilities in foreign subsidiaries of US
semiconductor firms. The study applies concepts from the evolutionary theory of the firm to
develop hypotheses regarding the technological development of multinational subsidiaries.
The research first explores whether the technological capabilities of MNE subsidiaries have
evolved over time by tracking the growth in the scale and scope of patenting activity. The
paper then uses patent citation data to examine if the external influences on and the impact of
subsidiary technological innovation change over time. We find support for changes in
subsidiary learning behavior over time; subsidiaries increasingly source knowledge from their
own MNE network and from local firms. We also find that with experience subsidiaries
contribute more knowledge to local firms - as they evolve, multinational subsidiaries
increasingly become embedded in the local (host country) networks. |
| | Keywords: multinationals; subsidiaries; technology |
| Time's Arrow: The Impact of Differences in the Time Perspective on Knowledge Management in a Multicultural Context |
| | Waller, Mary J. | U. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | mjwaller@staff.uiuc.edu | 217-255-9310 |
| | Gibson, Cristina B. | Center for Effective Organizations, USC | cgibson@ceo.usc.edu | (213)-740-7057 |
| | This paper focuses on differences in time perspective across cultures, and how these differences may impact the management of knowledge within and between organizing in multicultural contexts. A multi-level framework is presented to facilitate understanding the effects of time perspective differences on knowledge creation and knowledge transfer activities. Propositions are developed that describe how knowledge characteristics, process characteristics and time perspective may converge to positively o negatively moderate time perspective influence on knowledge management activities at the group, organization and inter organization levels. The paper closes with implications for existing theory, future empirical research and practitioners in multicultural contexts. |
| | Keywords: time perception; knowledge management; multicultural |
| Knowledge as Property: The Commercialization of Biotechnology in the United States and France |
| | Gittelman, Michelle | New York U. | gittelman@management.wharton.upenn.edu | (212) 666-6285 |
| | Even though countries may possess strong capabilities in scientific research, commercialization of technology based on that knowledge is highly dependent on national institutional variables. Of particular importance in science-based technologies are institutions that influence processes by which knowledge produced in scientific institutions is transferred to firms. This paper compares the privatisation of knowledge in the biotechnology industry, in two very different settings: the United States, where public science has contributed to the emergence of a new industry populated by entrepreneurial firms, and France, where knowledge remains concentrated in public-sector organizations. In the United States, significant knowledge transfer occurs through the creation of entrepreneurial firms by top scientists. In France, there is significant inter-organizational mobility of know-how but little labor mobility; few biotechnology firms are formed and large established firms dominate private commercialization. Using an original patent database, the paper analyses at the determinants of successful innovation in the two countries, looking at the separate roles of organizational form and inter-organizational knowledge transfer in the production of important patents. The findings indicate that biotechnology firms produce superior innovations in both countries, and that innovative performance is associated with inter-organizational mobility of know-how. This supports the idea that country- and firm-level innovative performance can be linked to environmental factors governing inter-organizational knowledge transfer and the composition of the innovation community. |
| | Keywords: national innovation systems; knowledge transfer; patent studies |