The role of social interaction in knowledge transfer : How do clusters of countries impact the transfer in a Management Consultancy?

Abstract: Multinational companies in the global economy of today are competing based on strategic knowledge. The ability to send and receive knowledge within different subsidiaries has therefore become imperative for the international firm. There are several known barriers and facilitators to transferring knowledge across different borders. Social interaction is one variable that by some have been shown to positively impact the knowledge sharing within multinational companies. The challenges social interaction bridges are especially related to tacit knowledge, which is foremost shared through face-to-face interaction in social communities. In this study, we investigated this impact in a management consultancy operating in the knowledge intensive service sector. We further investigate the implications of communities in the shape of country clusters and its effects on social interaction and knowledge transfer within the firm. Our findings show that social interaction is only positively relevant in terms of sending knowledge, and not on receiving knowledge. Moreover, our study did not find any significant impact of social interaction on knowledge transfer within the country clusters.