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Knowledge Transfer through Expatriation: How Do Subsidiary Employees Count?

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Part of the book series: AIB Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Series ((AIBSSA))

Abstract

Despite the proliferation of research on the role of expatriates as important carriers and transmitters of knowledge (Bonache and Zarraga-Oberty, 2008; Chang, Gong and Peng, 2012; Reiche, Harzing and Kraimer, 2009), our understanding of how this actually happens remains considerably limited (Inkpen, 2008; Reiche, 2011). Perhaps because there is not a commensurate body of knowledge about the role of local employees who are the primary recipients of whatever knowledge skills and capabilities the expatriates have to offer. This is surprising given that knowledge transfer, especially when such knowledge is tacit and complex, is essentially a dyadic phenomenon and requires the active participation of both the knowledge source and recipient. Given the foregoing therefore, the study explores the following question: How do micro-level and relational factors determine the successful transfer of knowledge to subsidiaries?

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© 2015 Yetunde Anibaba

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Anibaba, Y. (2015). Knowledge Transfer through Expatriation: How Do Subsidiary Employees Count?. In: Adeleye, I., Ibeh, K., Kinoti, A., White, L. (eds) The Changing Dynamics of International Business in Africa. AIB Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137516541_3

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