Abstract:
In this study, multinational enterprise was conceptualized as an integrative unit for
making localized knowledge global. Knowledge base of a Multi National Corporation
was basically categorized into two groups; local and global knowledge according to
accessibility of corporate units to the knowledge of the corporation rather than its
location. It is argued that strategic roles of subsidiaries within the same MNC can
differ in terms of magnitude and nature of involvement in sharing with the global
knowledge base of the corporation. The paper moves away from the unidirectional
flow of knowledge. Based on the knowledge sharing patterns, a four-cell classification
matrix was developed to illustrate different strategic roles of subsidiaries. The cluster
analysis revealed that there is a significant inter-subsidiary difference in knowledge
sharing patterns of subsidiaries. The study shows the strategic active subsidiary as a
special case of the problems of managing spatially separate knowledge sources.
