The underdetermined knowledge-based theory of the MNC

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fransson, Anders; Hakanson, Lars; Liesch, Peter W.
• 署名单位: Copenhagen Business School; University of Queensland
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2506
• DOI: 10.1057/jibs.2011.6
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: 427-435
• 关键词: theory of the MNC; KNOWLEDGE; epistemic communities; TRANSACTION COST ECONOMICS

摘要

In this note we revisit two core propositions of the knowledge-based view of the firm found in the seminal work of Kogut and Zander: (1) that multinational corporations (MNCs) exist because transfers and re-combinations of knowledge occur more efficiently inside MNCs than between MNCs and third parties; and (2) that the threat of opportunism is not necessary, although it may be sufficient, to explain the existence of the MNC. Their knowledge-based view shifted the conceptualization of the firm from an institution arising from market failure and transaction costs economizing to a progeny of superior knowledge governance. We question these conclusions, arguing that firms are but one of the many types of epistemic communities possessing and nurturing procedural norms, identity, and the cognitive, linguistic and reflexive attributes conducive to efficient exchange and re-combination of knowledge among their members. Important insights may be gained by applying the concept of epistemic communities implicit in the knowledge-based perspective beyond firm-level hierarchies. Journal of International Business Studies (2011) 42, 427-435. doi:10.1057/jibs.2011.6