A Knowledge System Approach to the Multinational Company: Conceptual Grounding and Implications for Research

49 Pages Posted: 30 Jun 2008

See all articles by Nicolai J. Foss

Nicolai J. Foss

Copenhagen Business School - Department of Strategy and Innovation

Jose Santos

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Management & Global Business

Yves L. Doz

INSEAD - Strategy

Date Written: June, 30 2008

Abstract

The role of knowledge, organizational learning, and innovation as levers of competitive advantage is now a commonly acknowledged insight in research in international management. However, while the agglomeration of insights of described as the "knowledge-based view" is a promising theoretical lens, insights are not organized into a unifying framework and there are significant holes in the understanding of how knowledge may be turned into a source of competitive advantage for MNCs. In order to advance the knowledge-based theory of the MNC, we develop the notion of the MNC as a global knowledge system linking local knowledge structures and combining local knowledge elements that are complementary to confer strategic advantage, and relate this to the theory of complex systems deriving from the work of Herbert Simon. These ideas are used to frame the changing environments, strategic intents, and learning stances that characterize MNCs, and to derive a set of research challenges for MNC research.

Keywords: Knowledge-based view of the MNC, knowledge structure, complementarities, complex systems

Suggested Citation

Foss, Nicolai J. and Santos, Jose and Doz, Yves L., A Knowledge System Approach to the Multinational Company: Conceptual Grounding and Implications for Research (June, 30 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1153346 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1153346

Nicolai J. Foss (Contact Author)

Copenhagen Business School - Department of Strategy and Innovation ( email )

Kilen
Frederiksberg, 2000
Denmark

Jose Santos

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Management & Global Business ( email )

Newark, NJ
United States

Yves L. Doz

INSEAD - Strategy ( email )

Boulevard de Constance
77305 Fontainebleau
France
(33) (0)1 60 72 42 56 (Phone)
(33) (0)1 60 74 55 60 (Fax)

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