Surmounting Interunit Barriers Factors Associated with Interunit Communication Intensity in the Multinational Corporation

Abstract

If multinational corporations (MNCs) can gain competitive advantage from interunit knowledge sharing, how to promote interunit communication in MNCs is a key question. We develop a model of factors that may influence communication in intra-MNC interunit relationships and test it on a sample of 308 dyadic relationships between Finnish and Chinese subsidiaries and their headquarters and sister units. Our results indicate that the intensity (frequency and perceived importance) of interunit communication is related to the extent of subsidiary managers' participation in corporate training programs, their fluency in the language in which the interunit communication takes place, and, to some extent, to the use of expatriate managers.