This paper provides the first in-depth study of the organization of knowledge in multinational firms. The paper … develops a theoretical model that studies how firms optimally split knowledge between their headquarters and their production … plants if communication costs impede the access of production plants to headquarter knowledge. The paper assumes that the …

This paper provides the first in-depth study of the organization of knowledge in multinational firms. In the theory …, knowledge is a costly input for firms that they can acquire at their headquarters or their production plants. Communication … costs impede the access of the plants to headquarter knowledge. The model shows that multinational firms systematically …