Abstract
By using the sample of 137 subsidiaries of Japanese Multinational Enterprises (MNEs), this study investigate what sort of conditions and elements which will lead to reverse transfer of R&D related knowledge from subsidiaries to headquarters in Japan.
In this paper, I mainly consider the outbound knowledge transfer based on two viewpoints: the movement of human resource between Japan and foreign base; and the autonomy level of foreign subsidiaries. This research starts by investigating how much the impact that dispatching R&D personnel overseas (with a minimum of 3 months stay) has in promoting reverse knowledge transfer (RKT), and whether the movement of highly-skilled talent is effective in transferring expertise in R&D related knowledge. It might be important to figure out how the rapid progress of information and communication technology nowadays has influenced the transfer of knowledge. Further, it also examines whether there is a relationship between the degree of autonomy granted to R&D activities of subsidiaries and RKT to Japan. We are able to capture the degree of reliance within R&D activities from the result of survey which conducted by our research team.
Based on my analysis, it is confirmed that subsidiaries which conduct a leading-edge yet advanced studies transfer a lot of knowledge and technology to Japan. Moreover, dispatch from Japan to foreign base has a positive influence on outbound knowledge transfer. This indicates that face-to-face interactions form a communication channel particularly in transferring tacit, non-codified knowledge. The result also suggests that the one-way dispatch of R&D personnel from foreign subsidiaries to Japan does not seem to show any impact on knowledge transfer. However, I found that the transfer of knowledge will emerge only when the personnel dispatch is carried out mutually between Japan and foreign subsidiaries. In addition, the simultaneous act of dispatching more personnel overseas and allowing more autonomy to such foreign base by the Japanese headquarter would significantly contribute in stimulating the RKT. Lastly, to accelerate knowledge transfer from subsidiaries which conduct a leading-edge R&D, it is effective to maintain limited autonomy under the headquarter.
