Can Knowledge Transfer Be Considered Expatriate Success

Abstract

This paper endeavours to study expatriate success through one of the primary roles of expatriate, that is, knowledge transfer. This present research was designed to analyze expatriate capability, that is, their ability and willingness to transfer both technical and managerial knowledge to the subsidiary. This study identifies the tools for transfer knowledge and finally, examines the relationship between expatriate motivation and their use of knowledge transfer tools. The findings indicate that managerial and functional skills are important for effective expatriate knowledge transfer in the subsidiaries. The results also show that there is a significant relationship between expatriate motivation and using face-toface interactions for transferring knowledge. These findings have implication for corporate managers designing strategic policies and practices facilitating expatriate knowledge transfer in the subsidiaries.