The aim of this article is to analyze headquarters (HQ)-subsidiary relationships in the domain of knowledge transfer based on the perspectives of power and control and the social embeddedness of firms in different institutional contexts. Data were collected from an Israeli multinational company. The analysis included various qualitative analyses of 64 interviews with employees of HQ and the South Pacific subsidiaries and of documents and observations. HQ-subsidiary relations in the domain of knowledge transfer are based on interdependence with limited cooperation, where power is not placed within one actor or location but rather is situated on both sides. This type of relationship is maintained and reproduced via tactics of knowledge transfer and control which are applied by both sides. A main cause of such relationships is the subsidiaries’ dual identification. On the one hand, Asian subsidiaries are loyal to some extent to the HQ, but on the other hand, they are loyal to their customers. The originality and value of this study is that first it presents an initial step in the development of a classification of interdependent HQ-subsidiary relationships. Second, this study shows which factors generate these relationships and how these relationships are reproduced, demonstrating that in the analysis of HQ-subsidiary relations, issues of power cannot be disconnected from the multinational context. Third, this study views organizational knowledge transfer as a form of business communication situated in broader cultural contexts. It contributes to the limited research that analyzes the coexisting of diverse organizing practices, and forms of business communication, which became prevalent in our global society.
AlstonJ. P. (1989). Wa, guanxi, and inhwa: Managerial principles in Japan, China, and Korea. Business Horizons, 32(2), 26-31.
2.
ArgoteL.IngramP. (2000). Knowledge transfer: A basis for competitive advantage in firms. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82, 150-169.
3.
BarthF. (2002). An anthropology of knowledge. Current Anthropology, 43, 1-18.
4.
Becker-RitterspachA. P. F.DörrenbächerC. (2011). An organizational politics perspective on intra-firm competition in multinational corporations. Management International Review, 51, 533-559.
5.
BjörkmanI.Barner-RasmussenW.LiL. (2004). Managing knowledge transfer in MNCs: The impact of headquarters control mechanisms. Journal of International Business Studies, 35, 443-455.
6.
BlazejewskiS.Becker-RitterspachF. (2011). Conflict in headquarters-subsidiary relations: A critical literature review and new directions. In DörrenbächerC.GeppertM. (Eds.), Political power in the multinational corporation: The role of institutions, interests and identities (pp. 139-190). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
7.
BurgessD. (2005). What motivates employees to transfer knowledge outside their work unit?Journal of Business Communication, 42, 324-348.
8.
CaloriR.LubatkinM.VeryP. (1994). Control mechanisms in cross-border acquisitions: An international comparison. Organization Studies, 15, 361-379.
9.
CampbellK. S.DavisL. (2006). The sociolinguistic basis of managing rapport when overcoming buying objections. Journal of Business Communication, 43, 43-66.
10.
CasciaroT.PiskorskiM. J. (2005). Power imbalance, mutual dependence, and constraint absorption: A closer look at resource dependence theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50, 167-199.
11.
CheneyG.ChristensenL. T.DaileyS. (2014). Communicating identity and identification in and around organizations. In PutnamL. L.MumbyD. K. (Eds.), Sage handbook of organizational communication (pp. 697-718). London, England: Sage.
12.
DavenportT. H.PrusakL. (1998). Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.
13.
DenzinN. K.LincolnY. S. (2000). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In DenzinN. K.LincolnY. S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 1-20). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
14.
DilleyR. (1999). Introduction: The problem of context. In DilleyR. (Ed.), The problem of context (pp. 1-46). New York, NY: Berghan Books.
15.
DörrenbächerC.GammelgaardJ. (2011). Subsidiary power in multinational corporations: The subtle role of micro-political bargaining power. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 7, 30-47.
16.
DunfeeT. W.WarrenD. E. (2001). Is guanxi ethical? A normative analysis of doing business in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 32, 191-204.
17.
EisenhardtK. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14, 532-550.
18.
EuskeN. A.RobertsK. H. (1987). Evolving perspectives in organization theory: Communication implications. In JablinF. M.PutnamL. L.RobertsK. H.PorterL. W. (Eds.), Handbook of organizational communication: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 18-40). London, England: Sage.
19.
FanY. (2002). Questioning guanxi: Definition, classification and implications. International Business Review, 11, 543-561.
20.
FernerA.AlmondP.ClarkI.CollingT.EdwardsT.HoldenL.Muller-CamenM. (2004). Dynamics of central control and subsidiary autonomy in the management of human resources: Case-study evidence from US MNCs in the UK. Organization Studies, 25, 363-391.
21.
FernerA.EdwardsT.TempelA. (2012). Power, institutions and the cross-national transfer of employment practices in multinationals. Human Relations, 65, 163-187.
22.
ForsgrenM.JohansonJ.SharmaD. (2000). Development of MNC centers of excellence. In HolmU.PedersenT. (Eds.), The emergence and impact of MNC centers of excellence (pp. 45-67). London, England: Macmillan.
23.
FrostP. J. (1987). Power, politics, and influence. In JablinF. M.PutnamL. L.RobertsK. H.PorterL. W. (Eds.), Handbook of organizational communication: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 503-548). London, England: Sage.
24.
GhauriP. (2004). Designing and conducting case studies in international business research. In Marschan-PiekkariR.WelchC. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research methods for international business (pp. 109-124). Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar.
25.
GrantR. M. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17(S2), 109-122.
HarzingA. W. (1999). Managing the multinationals: An international study of control mechanisms. Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar.
28.
HoY. C. (2014). Multilateral knowledge transfer and multiple embeddedness. Multinational Business Review, 22, 155-175.
29.
HoecklinL. A. (1995). Managing cultural differences: Strategies for competitive advantage. London, England: Addison-Wesley Longman.
30.
KhatriN.TsangE. W.BegleyT. M. (2006). Cronyism: A cross-cultural analysis. Journal of International Business Studies, 37, 61-75.
31.
KimB.PrescottJ. E.KimS. M. (2005). Differentiated governance of foreign subsidiaries in transnational corporations: An agency theory perspective. Journal of International Management, 11, 43-66.
32.
KroneK.GarrettM.ChenL. (1992). Managerial communication practices in Chinese factories: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Business Communication, 29, 229-252.
33.
KuhnT. R. (2014). Knowledge and knowing in organizational communication. In PutnamL.DennisK.MumbyK. (Eds.), The Sage handbook of organizational communication (pp. 481-502). London, England: Sage.
34.
LeszczyńskaD.PruchnickiE. (2015). The evolution of knowledge transfer and the location of a multinational corporation: Theory and mathematical model. Multinational Business Review, 23, 111-129.
35.
LiaoW.MacDonaldP.YuanY. C. (2016). The impact of communication behaviors on expertise recognition in intercultural collaboration. In TreemJ. W.LeonardiP. M. (Eds.), Expertise, communication, and organizing (1st ed., pp. 1-24). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
36.
MirR.BanerjeeS. B.MirA. (2008). Hegemony and its discontents: A critical analysis of organizational knowledge transfer. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 4, 203-227.
37.
MorganG.KristensenP. H. (2006). The contested space of multinationals: Varieties of institutionalism, varieties of capitalism. Human Relations, 59, 1467-1490.
38.
MudambiR. (2002). Knowledge management in multinational firms. Journal of International Management, 8, 1-9.
39.
MudambiR.NavarraP. (2004). Is knowledge power? Knowledge flows, subsidiary power and rent-seeking within MNCs. Journal of International Business Studies, 35, 385-406.
NohriaN.GhoshalS. (1994). Differentiated fit and shared values: Alternatives for managing headquarters-subsidiary relations. Strategic Management Journal, 15, 491-502.
42.
O’DonnellS. W. (2000). Managing foreign subsidiaries: Agents of headquarters, or an interdependent network?Strategic Management Journal, 21, 525-548.
43.
PfefferJ. (2005). Changing mental models: HR’s most important task. Human Resource Management, 44, 123-128.
44.
PfefferJ.SalancikG. R. (2003). The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
45.
SpradleyJ. (1979). The ethnographic interview. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
46.
SzulanskiG. (1996). Exploring internal stickiness: An empirical investigation of the barrier to transfer best practice inside the firm. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 437-442.
47.
ThompsonJ. D. (1967). Organizations in action: Social science bases of administrative theory. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
48.
TreemJ. W.LeonardiP. M. (2016). What is expertise? Who is an expert? Some definitive answers. In TreemJ. W.LeonardiP. M. (Eds.), Expertise, communication, and organizing (1st ed., pp. 1-24). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
49.
Von KroghG.IchijoK.NonakaI. (2000). Enabling knowledge creation: How to unlock the mystery of tacit knowledge and release the power of innovation. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
50.
WrightP.SzetoW. F.ChengL. T. (2002). Guanxi and professional conduct in China: A management development perspective. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13, 156-182.
51.
XinK. K.PearceJ. L. (1996). Guanxi: Connections as substitutes for formal institutional support. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 1641-1658.
52.
YamaguchiI. (2005). Interpersonal communication tactics and procedural justice for uncertainty management of Japanese workers. Journal of Business Communication, 42, 168-194.
53.
YinR. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
54.
ZaidmanN.BrockD. M. (2009). Knowledge transfer within multinationals and their foreign subsidiaries: A culture-context approach. Group & Organization Management, 34, 297-329.
