ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews literature on international knowledge transfer. H. Bresman, J. Birkinshaw and R. Nobel examine the importance of communications and interaction between acquirers and acquiring firms in international knowledge transfer, and they found that face-to-face discussion, as well as frequent visits and regular meetings, facilitate knowledge flows in the post-acquisition period. The chapter reviews the literature on knowledge of the firm, conventional and reverse knowledge transfers. While knowledge sourced from external markets is more open, intra-organisation knowledge is relatively easily understood and assimilated by the receiving units that are foreign subsidiaries, or multinational headquarters in reverse knowledge transfer. The chapter examines the importance of competence-creating subsidiaries. It provides an overview of the importance of absorptive capacity, location choices and language in international knowledge flows. The capacity to absorb the incoming knowledge is treated as an important barrier or facilitator for international transfer within the firm.
