Transfer of Marketing Knowledge within Multinational Corporations and Its Impact on Performance

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

知识被认为是理解公司如何获得及保持竞争优势的一个重要因素．但是很少由公司有能力去创造需要的知识，而且，公司也应该通过知识传递过程学到并开发出新的知识．在阐述完知识的重要性后，本论文研究知识话应性、知识传递、市场营销三者的关系，以及检验知识吸收能力，社会化，本地知识三者的融合。
本研究的结构如下:(1)知识，知识转移和吸收能力的文献综述。紧随其后的是源于知识观和吸收能力的假设的提出。(2)用从跨国公司子公司在韩国执行营销活动收集的数据检验假设。本研究以发现，意义和结论结束。
以下的六个研究假设是来自于相关领域的文献回顾:
H1从跨国公司总部及其他子公司的知识转移的适应性与知识流入接收到的子公司是正相关。
H2跨国公司总部及其他子公司的营销知识转移的水平与接受子公司的销售绩效是正相关。
H3潜在的吸收能力的提高将会增强知识的适应性和营销知识转移水平之间的关系。
H4现实的吸收能力的提高将会增强知识转移水平和接收子公司的销售绩效之间的关系。
H5总部和子公司之间社交活动的增多将会增强知识的适应性和营销知识转移水平之间的关系。
H6地方性发展的营销知识水平的提高将会增强知识转移水平和接收子公司的销售绩效之间的关系。
本研究的分析单位是从跨国公司的总部和其他子公司到他们在韩国的子公司的知识转移。自不同行业企业和商业协会的共603家外国公司。在通过个人接触，电话，传真和电子邮件要求完成问卷调查后，我们收集了133家初始样品公司的282份有效问卷。
实证分析的结果明显的支持了除了假设3以外的所有假设。外部知识的适应性促进知识转移，这种关系通过一个公司的潜在之知识的吸收能力被缓和。另一方面，知识转移促进了公司销售绩效和公司现实的知识吸收能力，同时地方营销知识减缓了这种关系。
本文研究结果的理论和实际意义如下:(1)公司必须认真思考寻求、转移、共享和利用外部知识，同时创造知识支持必要的经营，保持竞争力，使产品达到更高超的性能。(2)公司将不断寻求发展他们的知识的吸收能力(包括潜在的和现实的能力)吸收，学习和使用有价值的外部知识。(3)公司不仅要强调吸收能力，也要发展当地的知识。有着较好知识知识吸收能力和本地营销知识的公司能够得到更多的外在知识，这些知识能够在以后的更高层次的竞争及营销中得到运用。

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Knowledgel is considered to be a key element of understanding how organizations gain and sustain competitive advantages. But very few firms are capable of creation the requisite knowledge and thus, firms should acquire and exploit new knowledge through knowledge transfer processes. The empirical part of this study involves examining relationships among adaptability of knowledge and knowledge transfer and marketing performance and testing the moderating roles of absorptive capacity, socialization and local marketing knowledge.
This study is organized as follows: (1) Previous literature on knowledge, knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity is summarized, followed by the development of hypotheses derived from the knowledge-based view and absorptive capacity. (2) The hypotheses are tested with data collected from MNCs' subsidiaries performing marketing activities in Korea, The study is closed with findings, implications, and conclusions.
Following six research hypotheses are drawn from literature review in related areas:
H1: Adaptability of knowledge transferred from the MNCs' headquarters and other subsidiaries is positively associated with knowledge inflows into the receiving subsidiary.
H2: The level of marketing knowledge transferred from the MNCs' headquarters and other subsidiaries is positively associated with marketing performance of the receiving subsidiary.
H3: Increases in potential absorptive capacity will enhance the relationship between adaptability of knowledge and the level of marketing knowledge transfer.
H4: Increases in realized absorptive capacity will enhance the relationship between the level of knowledge transfer and marketing performance of the receiving subsidiary.
H5: Increases in socialization activity among the headquarters and subsidiaries will enhance the relationship between adaptability of knowledge and the level of marketing knowledge transfer.
H6: Increases in the level of locally developed marketing knowledge will enhance the relationship between the level of knowledge transfer and marketing performance of the receiving subsidiary.
The research framework that illustrates the proposed hypotheses is presented in figure 1.
The unit of analysis for this study is knowledge transfer from the MNCs' headquarters and other subsidiaries to their subsidiaries operating in South Korea. The population for this study consists of subsidiaries established either as joint ventures or as wholly-owned subsidiaries. A group of 603 foreign firms were drawn from diverse industry organizations and business societies. After personal contact, telephons, fax, and e-mail to request that the respondents complete the questionnaire, 282 valid questionnaires from 133 initial sample companies were collected.
The results of the empirical analyses significantly support all of the proposed hypotheses except hypothesis 3. Adaptability of external knowledge promotes knowledge transfer and the relationship is moderated by a firm's potential knowledge absorptive capacity. On the other hand, knowledge transfer improves a firm's marketing performance and a firm's realized knowledge absorptive capacity and local marketing knowledge moderate the relationship.
The theoretical and practical implications of the findings in this study are as follows:
(1) firms must take seeking, transferring, sharing and exploiting of external knowledge into serious consideration, while simultaneously creating knowledge to support the necessary business operations, remain competitive, and achieve superior performance. (2) Firms should continuously seek to develop their knowledge absorptive capacity (both potential and realized capacity) to absorb, learn and utilize valuable external knowledge. (3) Firms should emphasize not only absorptive capacity, but also development of local knowledge. Firms with strong absorptive capability and local knowledge can learn and transfer more external knowledge, which can be translated into greater l