How does a parent’s knowledge influence the knowledge bridging of joint ventures?

Abstract

Previous research has underscored the significance of the equity investment relationship in facilitating knowledge transfers between a joint venture and its parent company. Successful knowledge bridging in joint ventures plays a crucial role in shaping organizational learning and innovation performance outcomes. The empirical evidence on the effectiveness of knowledge transfers, however, presents a mixed picture. Through a rigorous sample selection process, we collect panel data on 366 joint venture-year observations across four industries during an 18-year period to empirically test the proposed hypotheses. In this research, we contend that the ability of joint ventures to act as knowledge bridges depends on the diversity of the parent’s knowledge and the technological similarity between the joint venture and the parent, especially in the context of internal knowledge development. An examination of bridging performance in the relationship between joint ventures and parent companies indicates that both parental knowledge diversity and joint venture – parent technology similarity positively impact the knowledge acquired through the joint venture – parent equity relationship. Furthermore, when the joint venture strongly depends on internal knowledge, the positive relationship among parental knowledge diversity, joint venture – parent technology similarity, and joint venture knowledge bridging becomes more pronounced. Our findings shed light on how the specific features of a parent company contribute to the knowledge learning bridged by a joint venture and underscore the role of equity investments in joint venture firms’ innovation.