Why Some are Less Willing to Share:Competitive Domains and Knowledge Transfer in Multi-Unit Organizations

Abstract

In multi-unit organizations, such as multinational corporations (MNCs), knowledge developed in one business unit can greatly benefit the performance of another. However, employees and managers compete with others within a competitive domain for resources, which may affect the willingness to share knowledge. We conceptualize the multi-unit organization as having multiple competitive domains depending on the main source for resource endowments for the knowledge-sharing actors. Our study draws on data from two surveys done in a global division of an MNC, comprising data from 342 individuals nested in 68 different units, across 24 countries. Our results show that social integration among individuals in different competitive domains boosts knowledge transfer between units, while social integration between individuals within the same competitive domain hampers knowledge transfer. These findings suggest that there is a different and darker side of social integration in multi-unit organizations than the previously established positive side leading to increased knowledge transfer. Our findings show that the willingness to share knowledge depends on the competition for resources between the knowledge-sharing actors. This finding extends the notion of internal vs. external resources within the multi-unit organization, differentiating between resources within (internal) and between (external) competitive domains.

Keywords: Competitive domain, Knowledge transfer, knowledge-based view, resource dependence theory, multinational corporation (MNC)