Tapping the power of local knowledge: A local-global interactive perspective

Author

Shenxue LI
Mark EASTERBY-SMITH
Majorie A. LYLES
Timothy Adrian Robert CLARK, Singapore Management UniversityFollow

Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

6-2016

Abstract

Existing theories of international business and strategy do not fully explain how local knowledge disadvantage faced by foreign investors can be mitigated. We conducted an in-depth qualitative study into four MNCs to investigate the micro-processes of how they generated value from their dispersed sources of local knowledge in China. The results suggest an interactive model: that MNCs employed management processes encompassing three strategically interconnected efforts—global knowledge penetration, local-global knowledge blending, and local-global knowledge integration. The model highlights the interplay between global and local knowledge and challenges extant research that solely focuses on the transfer of either home-based or local knowledge.

Keywords

Local knowledge, China, Local-global knowledge interaction, Local knowledge disadvantage, Qualitative study

Discipline

Asian Studies | International Business | Organizational Behavior and Theory

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Journal of World Business

Volume

51

Issue

4

First Page

641

Last Page

653

ISSN

1090-9516

Identifier

10.1016/j.jwb.2016.04.001

Publisher

Elsevier

Citation

LI, Shenxue; EASTERBY-SMITH, Mark; LYLES, Majorie A.; and CLARK, Timothy Adrian Robert. Tapping the power of local knowledge: A local-global interactive perspective. (2016). Journal of World Business. 51, (4), 641-653.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6266

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2016.04.001