A study of the perceptions of knowledge transfer in multinational corporations in China's information technology industry

The goals of this study were to explore existing practices used to facilitate knowledge transfer in MNCs in the information technology industry in China, and to investigate the frequency of use and the influence of each practice on knowledge transfer. In addition, this study examined which types of knowledge could be transferred by a given practice. Subsidiary age and size were also examined to determine their relationships to both the frequency of use and the influence of each practice.The study used a two-stage method that included two surveys. The first survey was designed to develop an inclusive list of knowledge transfer practices. The participants included 21 MNC managers and 4 business school faculty members in China. 33 practices were identified in the first survey.The second survey was a structured questionnaire designed to investigate each practice in depth. 235 survey requests were made to managers in MNCs in 36 subsidiaries. Responses were received from 153 mangers from 28 subsidiaries. The return rate of this survey was 65%. There were three questions in the second survey: (1) how frequently has this practice been used in your company? (2) how much influence does this practice have on knowledge transfer? (3) which types of knowledge can be transferred by each practice?The second survey found: (1) the frequency of use and the influence on knowledge transfer varied from one practice to another (2) MNCs frequently used those practices with higher influence on knowledge transfer (3) certain practices are better suited in transferring certain types of knowledge and (4) subsidiary age and size have an impact on the frequency of use and the influence of each practice on knowledge transfer. These findings can be useful to HRD professionals and mangers as they facilitate the transfer of different types of knowledge within organizations.