| Expatriate managers on duty in subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations (MNC) perform several duties, including but not limited to, the collection and transmission of tacit knowledge to their headquarters. They do so by virtue of their absorptive capacity capabilities. This study used a survey instrument to examine the transfer of tacit knowledge in an Israeli MNC environment. The results of the study confirm that tacit knowledge is transferred to home offices and modifies short term and long term decision-making of the headquarters, particularly when the knowledge transferred is directly related to the subsidiary activity. Valuable knowledge is accumulated by expatriate managers on duty abroad. This knowledge should be preserved. The study examines the perceptions of expatriate managers on duty on retention upon completion of their assignments. Findings show that repatriate managers, who are retained by their corporations upon of their tour abroad, are more interested in obtaining an interesting job and a successful repatriate adjustment, than taking advantage of their tenure qualifications. |
