Title: Managing knowledge transfer within multinational firms

Authors: Vittorio Chiesa, Raffaella Manzini

Addresses: CNR-ITIA and Politecnico di Milano, CNR-ITIA V. le Lombardia 20/A – 20131, Milano, Italy. ' Libero Istituto Universitario Carlo Cattaneo, C.so Matteotti 22 – 21053, Castellanza (Varese), Italy

Abstract: Subsidiaries are increasingly involved in the process of technological innovation within multinational firms. The product and technology development process tends to take place on a global basis. This means that technical knowledge is transferred between units geographically dispersed. This paper aims to identify the instruments and mechanisms adopted to transfer technical knowledge within multinational firms. It shows the results of a survey on twelve multinational companies operating in technology-intensive industries.

Keywords: knowledge transfer; technology internationalisation; global technology management; R&D; technology strategy; global R&D; international R&D structures; technological innovation; innovation management; multinational corporations; MNCs; research and development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.1996.025528

International Journal of Technology Management, 1996 Vol.12 No.4, pp.462 - 476

Published online: 22 May 2009 *

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