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Management International Review
Published in: Management International Review 3/2019

30-04-2019 | Research Article

Knowledge Acquisition in International Strategic Alliances: The Role of Knowledge Ambiguity

Authors: Mia Hsiao-Wen Ho, Pervez N. Ghauri, Mario Kafouros

Published in: Management International Review | Issue 3/2019

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Abstract

Although prior research has emphasized the importance of international strategic alliances, we have incomplete understanding of how and why some firms succeed in acquiring knowledge from foreign partners, but others fail. We advance understanding of this important issue by examining (1) two key antecedents of knowledge ambiguity (the perceived difficulty of understanding the causal effects of partner’s knowledge and the use of such knowledge) and (2) by identifying how firms can partly overcome the negative effects of knowledge ambiguity on knowledge acquisition in international alliances. Drawing on organizational learning theory, our analysis not only shows (and explains how) knowledge ambiguity affects international knowledge acquisition through the interaction with absorptive capacity, but also identifies what alliance partners can do to reduce knowledge ambiguity and overcome some of its negative consequences, such as choosing foreign partners with a similar institutional context and building strong relationships with such partners.
previous article Export Performance in SMEs: The Importance of External Knowledge Search Strategies and Absorptive Capacity
next article Why Poor Performance is Not Enough for a Foreign Exit: The Importance of Innovation Capability and International Experience

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Metadata
Title
Knowledge Acquisition in International Strategic Alliances: The Role of Knowledge Ambiguity
Authors
Mia Hsiao-Wen Ho
Pervez N. Ghauri
Mario Kafouros
Publication date
30-04-2019
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Management International Review / Issue 3/2019
Print ISSN: 0938-8249
Electronic ISSN: 1861-8901
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-019-00383-w

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