Transferring subsidiary knowledge in the global learning context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore organizational factors that affect the transfer of subsidiary knowledge to both parent companies and peer subsidiaries. Design/methodology/approach – The hypotheses are tested using multivariate regression, based on a survey of 81 foreign subsidiaries in South Korea. Findings – The findings show that organizational factors that affect the transfer of subsidiary knowledge differ according to whether the recipient is the parent or the peer subsidiary. Subsidiary‐to‐parent knowledge flow is facilitated by establishing efficient formal mechanisms such as an expatriation policy, a subsidiary performance evaluation system, etc., whereas knowledge transfer to peer subsidiaries is enhanced by the length of a subsidiary's operation period and the frequency of its managers' communications with other managers in peer subsidiaries. Practical implications – This analysis suggests that managers of multinational companies should apply different approaches in managing these two distinct knowledge flow patterns in the MNC network. Originality/value – This study offers new insights into the challenges of global learning by highlighting the difficulty of transferring subsidiary knowledge to peer subsidiaries through formal organizational apparatuses.