Reilly Marty, Tippmann Esther, Sharkey Scott Pamela
DCU Business School, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland.
University of Galway, J. E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, Galway, Ireland.
J Int Bus Stud. 2023 Jan 31:1-30. doi: 10.1057/s41267-022-00592-w.
Subsidiary closures and relocations, a process whereby a multinational enterprise (MNE) closes down a subsidiary and relocates its activities, are commonplace and increasing. Yet we lack an understanding of how knowledge in such situations can be successfully transferred to prevent loss and provide for future knowledge recombination in the MNE. Compared to periods of normal operation, knowledge sharing during subsidiary relocations is likely compromised by diminished sender motivation. In a detailed case study of a subsidiary closure and relocation, we find that the announcement of a subsidiary closure can lead to a break in cooperative behavior that inhibits knowledge transfer. It is therefore critical to reinstate cooperative behavior among subsidiary employees. Reinstatement can be achieved through a set of subsidiary leadership practices that affect the emotions of employees and subsidiary identity. This finding contributes to our understanding of knowledge transfer dynamics in MNEs during subsidiary relocations and closures, extends theory on the practices of subsidiary leadership in subsidiary death and adds to our understanding of identity in MNEs.
子公司关闭与迁移，即跨国企业（MNE）关闭一家子公司并重新安置其业务的过程，司空见惯且日益增多。然而，我们并不了解在这种情况下知识如何能够成功转移，以防止损失并为跨国企业未来的知识重组提供条件。与正常运营时期相比，子公司迁移期间的知识共享可能会因发送者动机减弱而受到损害。在一项关于子公司关闭与迁移的详细案例研究中，我们发现子公司关闭的宣布可能导致合作行为的中断，从而抑制知识转移。因此，恢复子公司员工之间的合作行为至关重要。可以通过一系列影响员工情绪和子公司身份认同的子公司领导实践来实现恢复。这一发现有助于我们理解跨国企业在子公司迁移和关闭期间的知识转移动态，扩展了关于子公司死亡时子公司领导实践的理论，并增进了我们对跨国企业中身份认同的理解。
