Empirical Research On The Chinese MNCs' Reverse Knowledge Transfer From The Control Mechanism's Perspective

With the growth of outward foreign direct investment,the key to the successful operation of multinational enterprises from emerging economies is to have the reserve knowledgetransfer(RKT)from their subsidiaries.But there is a little research on the RKT of multinational enterprises from emerging economies,thus there exists a gap between theory and practice.Meanwhile,due to the opportunism of subsidiaries and the superiority of the parent company,the occurrence of reverse knowledge transfer has never been spontaneous.It requires investment,thoughtfully design and detailed plan from parent company,in order to overcome obstacles which may block the success of the RKT.Therefore,a planned,purposeful management mechanism design is the key factor to determine the success of RKT.Based on the practical needs and the shortage of the existing theories,this study taking the Chinese multinational enterprises(MNEs)as the research object will analyze the internal mechanism which has an influence on the quantity and quality of RKT from the perspective of management control.The research will focus on the following three issues:(1)How do different types of control mechanisms affect the level of knowledge gained from the RKT?(2)How does the subsidiary‘s role affect the type of control mechanisms used by the parent company?(3)What is the relationship between the amount of RKT and the value of RKT?Based on an exploratory case study on ChemChina gaining knowledge from its French subsidiary,the research provided a theoretical framework for the above research questions.After we conducted a survey of 95 Chinese multinational enterprises and carried on an empirical analysis,we come to the following conclusions:(1)In the process of RKT carried by Chinese multinational enterprise,formal control mechanisms and social control mechanisms have different effects on the amount and the value of RKT.At the same time,the effects that the formal control mechanisms and the social control mechanisms have on RKT will change when the parent companyies‘ absorptive capabilities change.(2)The design of the control mechanisms of Chinese multinational enterprises is supposed to match with the roles played by their subsidiaries,including the value of knowledge storage and the knowledge seeking purpose.(3)The influence of the control mechanisms and the subsidiary‘s role on the value of RKT is mediated by the level of RKT.The research will fill the theoretical gaps in the research field of RKT within the multinational enterprises from emerging markets.Meanwhile,by exploring the RKT within the multinational enterprises from the perspective of the control mechanism,the research will provide a new perspective for the researches on the multinational enterprises.