Abstract

Organizational knowledge is considered an essential competency for multinational corporations wanting to efficiently transfer their experience and practices to subsidiaries. Knowledge transfer has traditionally been examined through the transmission of routines, rules, and procedures--but when transferring knowledge from one country to the other, cultural characteristics also need to be taken into consideration. This paper uses a multiple case study to investigate how the transfer of know-how is influenced by three factors: level of individualism, the degree of subsidiary autonomy, and time. The sample consisted of seven Canadian and Greek parent companies and eight subsidiaries, with qualitative data triangulated from twenty-seven interviews, as well as documentation and observation. The findings confirm the majority of the hypothesized constructs, indicating that cultural characteristics influence cross-border knowledge transfer.