海外子公司内外部网络的知识获取对企业绩效的影响研究

The Effects of Knowledge Acquisition from Internal and External Networks on Subsidiary Performance:The Case of Korean Firms in China

本文以在华韩国企业为对象分析了从母公司获取的知识和本地获取的知识对海外子公司绩效的影响。研究结果发现,从母公司获取的知识和本地商务知识对子公司绩效有直接的正向影响,但本地制度知识对子公司绩效没有显著影响。此外,从母公司获取的知识和本地制度知识对子公司绩效有互补效应,但是从母公司获取的知识和本地商务知识的交互效应对子公司绩效有负向影响。这说明,从母公司获取的知识、本地商务知识和本地制度知识对海外子公司绩效都有重要影响,但是各自所发挥不同的作用。

In multinational networks, subsidiaries are internally connected with their headquarters and other subsidiaries, and are externally connected with local customers, suppliers and governments. Although parent knowledge helps to overcome the liability of foreignness, not all knowledge can be accumulated internally. Therefore, if subsidiaries try to sustain their competitive advantage and achieve high performance levels, they should learn from both internal and external networks. This paper seeks to analyze the effects of knowledge acquired from headquarters and host countries on subsidiary performance. We classify local experience knowledge into business knowledge and local institutional knowledge and investigate the following issues： First, what influence does parent knowledge and the two types of local experience knowledge have on subsidiary performance？ Second, what influence does the moderation effect of the two types of local experience knowledge and parent knowledge have on subsidiary performance？ Using survey data from 131 Korean firms in China, we find the following conclusions： （1） Parent knowledge has a positive effect on subsidiary performance. This finding implies that parent knowledge plays a crucial role in assisting foreign subsidiaries in overcoming the liability of foreignness; （2） Local business knowledge has a positive effect on subsidiary performance. This finding suggests that it is necessary to acquire local business knowledge for successful internationalization; （3） Local institutional knowledge has no direct effect on subsidiary performance, but the moderation effect of local institutional knowledge and parent knowledge has a positive effect on subsidiary performance. This finding suggests that parent knowledge and local institutional knowledge play complementary roles; and （4） There is evidence to oppose the hypothesis that the moderation effect of local business knowledge and parent knowledge has a negative influence on subsidiary performance. This finding implies that it is difficult to maintain a balance between parent knowledge and local business knowledge due to their similar nature. In conclusion, this study proposes that both parent knowledge and local experience knowledge are important to subsidiary performance, but they play different roles.