Jürgen Mühlbacher

Thinning Knowledge: An Interpretive Field Study of Knowledge-Sharing Practices of Firms in Three Multinational Contexts

Knowledge is often tacit and “sticky,” that is, highly context-specific and, therefore, costly to transfer to a different setting. This article examines the methods used by firms to facilitate cross-site knowledge sharing by “thinning” knowledge, that is, by stripping knowledge of its contextual richness. An interview-based study of cross-site knowledge sharing in three industries (consulting, industrial materials, and high-tech products) indicates that highly developed knowledge-sharing systems do not necessarily involve extensive codification and recombination of personalized knowledge. Many multinational firms evidently conceive their knowledge-sharing systems with more modest objectives in mind than any large-scale “learning spirals” featuring iterative conversion of personalized knowledge into codified knowledge and vice versa. A typology of knowledge-thinning systems is derived by interpreting the field study results from the perspective of knowledge-thinning methods used in earlier eras of history. The typology encompasses topographical, statistical, and diagrammatic knowledge-thinning systems.

Integration-Responsiveness and Knowledge-Management Perspectives on the MNC A Typology and Field Study of Cross-Site Knowledge-Sharing Practices

This interview-based study of eight multinational corporations (MNCs) in five industries investigates varying patterns of cross-site knowledge sharing associated with MNCs pursuing global, multidomestic, and transnational strategies. The study revealed considerable polarization in knowledge-sharing practices between MNCs implementing transnational and global strategies, with cross-site knowledge sharing being of very high intensity among the former and quite minimal among the latter. MNCs pursuing global, multidomestic, and transnational strategies each tended to share qualitatively different kinds of knowledge as well. The relationship between MNC strategy and intrafirm knowledge sharing is encapsulated in a framework that bridges two hitherto largely separate research streams: the integration-responsiveness framework and knowledge-management studies of the MNC.

Competency management in Slovenia: Paradoxes between development trends and drivers of change*

This paper investigates the employment growth of small and medium-sized firms that survived the transformation process of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). We find that firms founded in the later period of the GDR’s existence have especially low growth prospects, even 10 years after German reunification. The later phase of the GDR was marked by tightening measures intended to enhance political influence on the planned economy, accompanied by a sharp economic decline. Thus, organizations were more deeply embedded in planning structures that were more rigorous than those present in the first years of the GDR’s existence. We argue that these organizations therefore developed less appropriate practices for coping with a market economy than organizations founded in other periods.

Organizational context and knowledge transfer of a high‐tech MNC

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present, analyze and discuss the case of AT&S, Europes largest and most technologically advanced producer of printed circuit boards and one of the most successful Austrian‐based global players..Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses on the companys strategy and its global integration, its structure in terms of decentralisation, its organizational culture, and how the corporate approach towards knowledge management and cross‐site knowledge transfer is attuned to these premises. The paper encoded nine qualitative, semi‐structured interviews with top managers of the Austrian headquarters and two subsidiaries in Asia according to a system of categories and integrated the results for three interviews per site to an assessment on unit level. Then the three units were again merged and combined to an analysis on the company level.Findings – Discussing the knowledge flows among the three sites and also the mechanisms of knowledge transfer across organizational a...

Competency Management in Central Europe: A Comparison of Czech, Hungarian and Slovenian Competency Needs

Abstract After a strong focus on transition processes in Central East European countries (CEE), this topic has been displaced by more dramatic merger and reorganization processes or the recent financial crisis. This obscures the fact that we know almost nothing about the management competencies in these countries, which is an important building or stumbling block for future development. Therefore, we will examine the individual competencies of almost 300 top and middle managers in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia, and we will compare the different sets of competencies and interpret them according to the given economic situation in these countries

Strategische Aufgaben- und Kompetenzverteilung im Management

Ausgehend von der Ableitung des selbstdispositiven Kompetenzbegriffs und der Darstellung unterschiedlicher Konzepte der Aufgaben- und Kompetenzverteilung im Management testet diese Studie die von Porter vorgeschlagene strategische Kompetenzverteilung zwischen Top- und Mittelmanagement. Methodisch basiert die Untersuchung auf einer Internetumfrage hinsichtlich aktuell erforderlicher und zukunftig antizipierter Kompetenzen, an der 275 Fuhrungskra fte teilnahmen. Die statistische Analyse fuhrt zu zwei unterschiedlichen Ergebnissen. Erstens wird fur die Gegenwart Porters Modell der Aufgabenteilung weitgehend bestatigt. Zweitens weisen die zukunftigen Erwartungen jedoch auf einen umfassenden Wandel hin. Beide hierarchischen Ebenen setzen in Zukunft verstarkt auf die Erho hung der Flexibilitat. Dies fuhrt zu einem Mangel an Innovation, Teamwork und Empowerment, die als wesentliche Kompetenzen fur den Aufbau und Erhalt eines strategischen Wettbewerbsvorteils angesehen werden mussen.

The changing business scenario antecedents and consequences of change factors: evidence from Pakistan

The changes in the business environment have great implication and influence on business strategy. The performance of the firms are mostly determined by their ability to anticipate, understand and encounter these business opportunities and threats better than competitors. This is more pertinent when strategic managers devise a strategy to capitalise on future opportunities and make adjustment in strategy, structure and systems according to the anticipated shift in the business environment. In this perspective, the paper reports on which drivers of change are likely to shift the focus of business in Pakistan. It identifies and analysis in greater detail the impact of these factors on business organisations and the economy of Pakistan to suggest the remedies and solutions in changing scenario. To analyse the interaction and dependency among drivers of change Tetrad software was used to find out the underlying relationships in order to interpret the results in more meaningful way. The paper indicates that externally driven factors perceive as a major threat for business in Pakistan. On the other hand to cope up with crises and compete in the global world, the management has to pay attention towards human resource development and to re-ignite the organisational change process to reap the benefits of globalisation. The paper has implication for both policy makers and business practitioners.

Management Competencies and Organizational Performance in CEE: A Comparison of Slovenia and Austria

Abstract Today management competencies are seen as the only long-term strategic advantage of any company. However, from corporate experience we know that only 10 % of the knowledge acquired is transferred into entrepreneurial practice. Current trends in management development often overemphasize individual learning and ignore the missing fit between individual behavior and organizational performance. To meet these demands, we collected competency attributions of managers attending executive courses in Austria and Slovenia. A questionnaire with closed and open question will help to explore and compare the relation between organizational performance and current management competencies in these countries. The results confirm our predictions to a lesser extent. However, they represent a basis for further examination of the relationship between managerial competencies and organizational performance.

Venture Brazil: Studying Austro-Brazilian Joint Ventures by Means of GABEK and WinRelan

This chapter is based on a study of joint ventures in Brazil, one of the world’s largest and most attractive emerging markets. International joint ventures are complex partnerships that depend on personal and cultural understanding between the partners, strategic harmony in respect of the goals to be achieved, a good resource fit and trust between the partners in the interest of success. Previous research has focused on various aspects of international joint ventures, including planning, management and control, but little attention has been paid to the Latin American market, with its unique characteristics. The study reported in this chapter aimed to identify the key success factors in Austro-Brazilian joint ventures by uncovering the critical internal and external factors that had influenced this kind of cooperation, plus the managers’ perceptions and evaluations of and attitudes towards their joint ventures. The empirical research included both partners’ perspectives, that is, those of the Austrian and the Brazilian managers. It involved the full range of Austrian equity joint ventures in Brazil, covering 12 companies. GABEK was chosen as an appro-priate method for theory building when the existing theories were deemed to be rather inconsistent.

Wissensbasierte Steuerung Multinationaler Unternehmen – Eine empirische Studie über den Zusammenhang von Strategie, Organisationsstruktur und Wissenstransfer unterschiedlicher MNU-Typen

Forschungsergebnisse im Zusammenhang mit Wissenstransfer in Multinationalen Unternehmen (MNU) sind vielfaltig (Subramanian/Venkatraman 2001, Foss/Pedersen 2002, Cho/Lee 2004, Jensen/Szulanski 2004, Harzing/Noorderhaven 2006). Es gibt jedoch wenige theoretische und noch weniger empirische Ansatze, diese Ergebnisse als Steuerungsmoglichkeit zwischen Konzernzentralen und Niederlassungen mit traditioneller MNU-Forschung in Bezug auf Strategie und Organisationsstruktur (Perlmutter 1969, Prahalad/Doz 1987, Bartlett/Ghoshal 1989, Roth et al. 1991) zu verbinden. Genau diese Lucke zu schliesen, ist unser Ziel. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf der Verknupfung von Wissensmanagement mit der Strategie und der Organisationsstruktur von Unternehmen und fuhrt zu folgender Forschungsfrage: Wie beeinflussen Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Strategie und Organisationsstruktur den Wissenstransfer multinationaler Konzerne?