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Perception Gaps in International Corporate Entrepreneurship: The Role of Knowledge Transfer Tools

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on knowledge transfer in multinational corporations and analyses to what extent and under what conditions perception gaps associated to knowledge sharing have an impact on performance. We build and test a moderated mediation model which shows that perception gap on knowledge sharing is an antecedent of capability perception gap which, in turn, negatively influences subsidiary performance. Results obtained highlight that knowledge transfer tools—and particularly technology-based coordination mechanisms—play a crucial role in creating the best environment to share knowledge within multinational corporations.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Air-miles distance computed using www.distancefromto.net

  2. 2.

    Data referred to 2014 retrieved from data. worldbank.org

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Young and Family Enterprise and Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo, Via Pasubio 7b, 24044, Dalmine (BG), Italy

    Mara Brumana, Lucio Cassia, Davide Gamba & Tommaso Minola

Authors
  1. Mara Brumana
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  2. Lucio Cassia
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  3. Davide Gamba
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  4. Tommaso Minola
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tommaso Minola .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

    Tessaleno Devezas

  2. University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

    João Leitão

  3. Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Askar Sarygulov

Appendices

In order to ensure anonymity, both the company and the family members are identified with pseudonyms.

Appendix 1: Case Study

In order to ensure anonymity, both the company and the family members are identified with pseudonyms.

PACK is an Italian manufacturing firm operating in the packaging sector and established in the ‘1970s, when Mr. Jack Neri started a mechanical workshop in the North of Italy. As a birthday gift for their age of majority, each of Jack’s four sons received from the father 25 % of the workshop’s shares. When the last son reached the majority, the whole ownership of the firm had been transferred from the first to the second generation. This is the starting point of the “Brothers Neri” mechanical workshop, which few years later, was renamed PACK. Through the years—especially when web communications were not diffused—packaging industry’s customers asked to their suppliers to be closely located to them in order to enhance the efficiency of their production plants. The Neri brothers thus started to establish their subsidiaries around the world: the internationalization process started in 1996, when PACK opened the first representative greenfield office in Malaysia, followed the next year by the Mexican one.

Currently, with about 700 employees and a total turnover of around 130 million euros, PACK operates all around the world with ten subsidiaries and three representative offices. The relationships between the Italian HQ and its subsidiaries have been strengthened by the use of a customized Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system used to manage and control communication flows within the MNC’s network.

Appendix 2: Survey’s Items

Variable

Item

Capability perception gap

Based on your working experience, evaluate subsidiaries according to the following dimensions (1 = strongly under the average; 7 = strongly up the average): collecting information, distributing information, analysing and acting on information.

Knowledge sharing perception gap HQ → sub

Based on your working experience, evaluate HQ with a score from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

    – The parent sends enough information to local branches.

    – The parent’s expectations with respect to the local branches are clearly defined.

Firm tenure HQi

How long have you been working for the MNC?

Tacitness

Based on your working experience, indicate how much do you agree with the following claims (1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree)

– A manual describing how our activities are executed could be written.

– New staff can easily learn how to perform the services that our local company offers by talking to skilled employees.

– Training new personnel is typically a quick and easy job for us.

– New personnel with a university education can perform the services that our local company offers.

Knowledge sharing perception gap sub → HQ

Based on your working experience, evaluate the subsidiary with a score from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

– The parent receives enough information from the local branches.

TCM & PCM

Indicate how frequently each of the following knowledge management processes and tools are used (1 = strongly under the average; 7 = strongly up the average)

TCM: group learning facilities (from multiple sources or at multiple points at time), mapping specific types of knowledge (i.e. an individual, specific system, or database), chat groups/web-based discussion group, pointers to expertise (skills “yellow pages” within the company)

PCM: liaison personnel, temporary task forces, permanent teams

Subsidiary financial performance

Based on your working experience, evaluate subsidiaries according to the following dimensions (1 = strongly under the average; 7 = strongly up the average): overall sales revenue, overall market share, operating profit (EBIT ≈ Revenues—Costs)

Appendix 3: Variables Operationalization

 

Typology of variable

Variable

Source

Hypothesis 1

Dependent

Capability perception gap

Monteiro et al. (2008)

Independent

Knowledge sharing perception gap HQ → sub

Asakawa (2001)

Moderator

TCM & PCM

Ambos and Ambos (2009)

Control

Firm tenure HQi

/

Tacitnessi

Monteiro et al. (2008)

Geographical distance

Hypothesis 2

Dependent

Capability perception gap

Monteiro et al. (2008)

Independent

Knowledge sharing perception gap sub → HQ

Asakawa (2001)

Moderator

TCM & PCM

Ambos and Ambos (2009)

Control

Firm tenure HQi

/

Tacitnessj

Monteiro et al. (2008)

Geographical distance

Hypothesis 3

Dependent

Subsidiary financial performance

Monteiro et al. (2008)

Independent

Capability perception gap

Monteiro et al. (2008)

Control

Host country economic level

Monteiro et al. (2008)

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Brumana, M., Cassia, L., Gamba, D., Minola, T. (2017). Perception Gaps in International Corporate Entrepreneurship: The Role of Knowledge Transfer Tools. In: Devezas, T., Leitão, J., Sarygulov, A. (eds) Industry 4.0. Studies on Entrepreneurship, Structural Change and Industrial Dynamics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49604-7_16

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