An important part of the existing research on multinational enterprises (MNEs) seeks to explain why and how knowledge transfers occurs inside the MNEs. The majority of the research treats transfers in a context that assumes cooperation among geographically disperse subsidiaries. In this article we explain how subsidiaries may not always cooperate and, at least in some instances, they compete. We explore some implications of this difference for knowledge transfers to occur. Examining cooperative and competitive relations among subsidiaries of a parent MNE, we suggest that the success of the knowledge transfer depends on the organizational structure, the adjustment between the international strategy and the structure and the reward systems. In the absence of these, it seems reasonable to suggest that multimarket competition emerges among subsidiaries, originated by an overlap on the subsidiaries' products, technologies and market portfolios.
Knowledge transfer; subsidiaries; knowledge flows; competition and cooperation; international strategy
