Knowledge Transfer in Multinationals: the Role of Inpatriates’ Boundary Spanning
نویسندگان
چکیده
Viewing knowledge as rooted in individuals, this study investigates knowledge transfer in multinational corporations (MNCs) from an individual-level perspective. Specifically, I focus on inpatriates as a particular group of knowledge actors in MNCs and examine the role of inpatriates’ boundary spanning between their home unit and the headquarters for their knowledge transfer to headquarters staff. Based on a sample of 269 inpatriates in ten German MNCs, I find that inpatriates’ boundary spanning is positively related to inpatriates’ individual efforts for transferring and perceived HQ staff efforts for acquiring subsidiary-specific knowledge, and that both perceived HQ absorptive capacity and mentoring by HQ staff moderate these relationships.
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