TÜRK ÇOKULUSLU ŞİRKETLERİN ULUSLARARASILAŞMA SÜREÇLERİ VE DYY KAYNAKLI TERS BİLGİ TRANSFERİ: BİR VAKA ANALİZİ

Year 2023, Volume: 19 Issue: 3, 471 - 500, 29.09.2023

Tülay İlhan-nas , Şevval Tönel

https://doi.org/10.17130/ijmeb.1278701

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, Türk kökenli çokuluslu şirketlerin uluslararasılaşma süreçleri ve ters bilgi transferi irdelenmeye çalışılmaktadır. İlgili yazında yeterli düzeyde çalışma olmadığı için keşifsel bilgi ortaya koymak güdüsüyle vaka analizi yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Bu amaçla, gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ev sahibi ülkelerde faaliyette bulunan bir Türk çokuluslu şirketinin üst düzey yöneticileri ile derinlemesine mülakatlar gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular çerçevesinde, yalnızca gelişmiş ev sahibi ülkelerden değil aynı zamanda diğer gelişmekte olan ev sahibi ülkelerden de ters bilgi transferinin gerçekleştiği görülmektedir. Ters bilgi transferinin, zaman ve maliyet açısından faydalar sağlayarak merkez firmada ve şubeler arasında süreçlerin iyileştirilmesine yardımcı olduğu ortaya çıkmaktadır. Ters bilgi transferinin yanı sıra hem merkezden şubelere yönelik hem de şubeler arasında etkin bilgi transferlerinin formal ve informal kanallarla yaygın kullanmaktadırlar. Ayrıca, bulgular genel olarak değerlendirildiğinde, Türk kökenli firmaların uluslararasılaşma süreçlerini açıklamada tek bir uluslararasılaşma teorisinin yetersiz kalacağı birden çok teorinin bir arada ele alınmasının daha doğru olacağı görülmektedir.

Keywords

Türk çokuluslu şirketleri, ters bilgi transferi, bilgi transferi, uluslararasılaşma motivasyonu

THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF TURKISH MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES AND REVERSE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER THROUGH FDI: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

In this study, we examine the internationalization processes and reverse knowledge transfer of Turkish multinational companies. Case study was used with the aim of revealing exploratory knowledge because there is no enough study in the related literature. In-depth interviews were conducted with senior executives of a Turkish multinational company. This company has subsidiaries operating in developed and developing host countries. When the findings are evaluated, it is seen that reverse knowledge transfer takes place not only from developed host countries but also from other developing host countries. It turns out that reverse knowledge transfer helps to improve processes in the head firm and between branches by providing benefits in terms of time and cost. In addition to reverse knowledge transfer, they widely use formal and informal channels of effective information transfer, both from the head office to the branches and between the branches. In addition, when the findings are evaluated in general, it is seen that a single internationalization theory will not be sufficient to explain the internationalization processes of Turkish multinational companies and it would be more accurate to consider multiple theories together.

Keywords

Turkish multinational companies, knowledge transfer, reverse knowledge transfer, internationalization motivation

References

• Ambos, T. C., Ambos, B. & Schlegelmilch, B. B. (2006). Learning from foreign subsidiaries: An empirical investigation of headquarters’ benefits from reverse knowledge transfers. International Business Review, 15 (3), 294-312.
• Argote, L., Ingramm, P., Levine, J. M. & Moreland, R. L. (2000). Knowledge transfer in organizations: Learning from the experience of others. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82 (1), 1-8.
• Ayden, Y., Demirbağ, M. & Tatoğlu, E. (2018). Market entry strategies of Turkish MNEs. Turkish multinationals. Springer International Publishing AG, 127–168.
• Blomkvist, K. (2012). Knowledge management in MNCs: The importance of subsidiary transfer performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 16(6), 904-918.
• Borini, F. M., de Miranda Oliveira Jr, M., Silveria, F. F. & de Oliveirq Concer, R. (2012). The reverse transfer of innovation of foreign subsidiaries of Brazilian multinationals. European Management Journal, 30 (3), 219-231.
• Can, E. & Utlu, N. (2018). Gelişmekte olan ülkelerin çokuluslu işletmelerinin uluslararasılaşma teorileri: Bir literatür taraması. Yıldız Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 2 (2), 50-69.
• Chattopadhyay, A., Batra, A. & Özsomer, A. (2013). Gelişmekte olan pazarların yeni çokulusluları. Rota Yayın Yapım, İstanbul.
• Ciabuschi, F., Kong, L. & Su, C. (2017). Knowledge sourcing from advanced markets subsidiaries: Political embeddedness and reverse knowledge transfer barriers in emerging-market multinationals. Industrial and Corporate Change, 26 (2), 311-332.
• Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry research design choosing among five approaches, Sage, London.
• Davenport, T. H. & Prusak, L. (1998). Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Harvard Business School Press, United States of America.
• DeMarrais, K., B. (2004). Qualitative interview studies: Learning through experience. K.B. DeMarrais ve S.D. Lapan (Ed.), Foundations for research, (51- 68), Mahvvah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Demirbağ, M., Tatoğlu, E. & Glaister, K. W., (2010a). Institutional and transaction cost determinants of Turkish MNEs’ location choice. International Marketing Review, 27 (3), 272-294.
• Deng, P. (2013). Chinese outward direct investment research: Theoretical integration and recommendations. Management and Organization Review, 9 (3), 513-539.
• Di Minin, A. & Zhang, J. (2010). An exploratory study on international R&D strategies of Chinese companies in Europe. Review of Policy Research, 27 (4), 433-455.
• Dobrai, K. (2012). Knowledge transfer in multinational companies – evidence from Hungary. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, 9(3), 149-161.
• Driffield, N., Love, J. H. & Yang, Y. (2016). Reverse international knowledge transfer in the MNE: (Where) does affiliate performance boost parent performance? Research Policy, 45 (2), 491-506.
• Dunning, J. H. (1980). Toward an eclectic theory of international production: Some empirical tests. Journal of International Business Studies, 11 (1), 9-31.
• Dunning, J. H. (2000). The eclectic paradigm as an envelope for economic and business theories of MNE activity. International Business Review, 9 (2), 163-190.
• Dunning, J. H., Kim, C. & Park, D. (2007). Old wine in new bottles: A comparison of emerging market TNCs today and developed country TNCs thirty years ago. 1-33, https://www.oxfordtmcd.org/ sites/default/files/SLPTMD-WP-011.pdf. (Erişim Tarihi 15.04.2021).
• Dunning, J. H. & Lundan, S. M. (2008a). Multinational enterprises and the global economy. Edward Elgar Publishing, Birleşik Krallık.
• Eden, L. (2009). Letter from the editor-in-chief: Reverse knowledge transfers, culture clashes and going international. Journal of International Business Studies, 40 (2), 177-180.
• Eisenhardt, K. M., Graebner, M. E. & Sonenshein, S. (2016). Grand challenges and inductive methods: Rigor without rigor mortis. Academy of Management Journal, 59 (4), 1113-1123.
• Eisenhardt, K. M. & Graebner, Melissa E. (2007). Theory building from cases: Opportunities and challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50 (1), 25-32.
• Fang, S.-C., Yang, C. W. & Hsu, W. Y. (2013). Inter-organizational knowledge transfer: The perspective of knowledge governance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 17 (6) 943-957.
• Flick, U. (2014). The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis. Sage, Los Angeles.
• Grosse, R. (1996). International technology transfer in services. Journal of International Business Studies, 27 (4), 781-800.
• Honigmann, J. J. (1982) Sampling in ethnographic fieldwork. R.G. Burgess (Ed.), Field Research: A Sourcebook and Field Manual, (79-90), Ailen & Unwin, Londra.
• İhan-Nas, T., Okan, T., Düzgün, A. & Çam, H. (2020). Türkiye’den dışarıya yapılan DYY’lerin giriş stratejilerinin belirleyicileri üzerine bir araştırma: Uluslararasılaşma kuramları bakış açısı. Gümüşhane Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Elektronik Dergisi, 11 (3), 592-614
• İnce, M. & Oktay, E. (2006). Bilginin bir stratejik güç olarak önemi ve örgütlerde bilgi yönetimi. Selçuk Üniversitesi Karaman İ.İ.B.F. Dergisi, 10 (9) , 15-29.
• İraz, R. & Yıldırım, E. (2004). İşletmelerde stratejik bilgi yönetiminin yenilikçi faaliyetlerin sürdürülebilirliğine etkisi. SÜ İİBF Sosyal ve Ekonomik Araştırmalar Dergisi, 4 (8), 79-95.
• Jimenez, D. J., Martinez-Costa, M. & Sanz-Valle, R. (2014). Innovation, organizational learning orientation and reverse knowledge transfer in multinationals companies. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 12 (1), 47-55.
• Jimenez, D., Martinez-Costa, M. & Sanz-Valle, R. (2020). Reverse knowledge transfer and innovation in MNCs. European Journal of Innovation Management, 23(4), 629-648.
• Johanson, J. & Vahlne, J. E. (1977). The internationalization process of the firm-a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. Journal of International Business Studies, 8 (1), 23-32.
• Johanson, J. & Wiederscheim-Paul, F. (1975). The internationalization of the firm four Swedish cases. Journal of Management Studies, 12 (3), 305-323.
• Kedia, B., Gaffney, N. & Clampit, J. (2012). EMNEs and knowledge-seeking FDI. Management International Review, 52 (2), 155-173.
• Kogut, C. S. & Mello, R. D. C. (2018). Reverse knowledge transfer on emerging market multinationals: A case study of the largest private bank in Latin America. Latin American Business Review, 19 (1), 77-103.
• Kotabe, M., Jiang, C. X. & Murray, J. Y. (2011). Managerial ties, knowledge acquisition, realized absorptive capacity and new product market performance of emerging multinational companies: A case of China. Journal of World Business, 46 (2), 166-176.
• Liu, X. (2013). Bridging knowledge gaps: Returnees and reverse knowledge spillovers from Chinese local firms to foreign firms. Management International Review, 54 (2), 253–276.
• Lord, M. D. & Ranft, A. L. (2000). Organizational learning about new international markets: Exploring the internal transfer of local market knowledge. Journal of International Business Studies, 31, 573–589.
• Lu, J., Liu, X. & Wang, H. (2010). Motives for outward FDI of Chinese private firms firm resources, industry dynamics and government policies. Management and Organization Review, 7(2), 223– 248.
• Luo, Y. & Tung, R. L. (2007). International expansion of emerging market enterprises: A springboard perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 38 (4), 481-498.
• Luo, Y. & Wang, S. L. (2012). Foreign direct investment strategies by developing country multinationals: A diagnostic model for home country effects. Global Strategy Journal, 2 (3), 44-261.
• Makino, S., Lau, C. M. & Yeh, R. S. (2002). Asset-exploitation versus asset-seeking: Implications for location choice of foreign direct investment from newly industrialized economies. Journal of International Business Studies, 33 (3), 403-421.
• Mathews, J. A. (2003). Competitive dynamics and economic learning: an extended resource-based view. Industrial and Corporate Change, 12 (1), 115-145.
• Mathews, J. A. (2006). Dragon multinationals: New players in 21st century globalization. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 23 (1), 5-27.
• McGuinness, M., Demirbağ, M. & Bandara, S. (2013). Towards a multi-perspective model of reverse knowledge transfer in multinational enterprises: A case study of coats PLC. European Management Journal, 31 (2), 179-195
• Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco.
• Miao, Y., Choe, S. & Song, J. (2011). Transferring subsidiary knowledge in the global learning context. Journal of Knowledge Management, 15 (3), 478-496.
• Michailova, S. & Mustaffa, Z. (2012). Subsidiary knowledge flows in multinational corporations: Research accomplishments, gaps and opportunities. Journal of World Business, 47 (3), 383-396.
• Mudambi, R., Piscitello, L. & Rabbiosi, L. (2014). Reverse knowledge transfer in MNEs: Subsidiary innovativeness and entry modes. Long Range Planning, 47 (1-2), 49-63.
• Mudambi, R. & Navarra, P. (2004). Is knowledge power? Knowledge flows, subsidiary power and rentseeking within MNCs. Journal of International Business Studies, 35 (5), 385-406.
• Nair, S. R., Demirbağ, M. & Mellahi, K. (2015). Reverse knowledge transfer from overseas acquisitions: A survey of Indian MNEs. Management International Review, 55 (2), 277-301.
• Nair, S. R., Demirbağ, M & Mellahi, K. (2016). Reverse knowledge transfer in emerging market multinationals: The Indian context. International Business Review, 25 (1), 152-164.
• Nair, S. R, Demirbağ, M., Mellahi, K. & Pillai, K. G. (2018). Do parent units benefit from reverse knowledge transfer? British Journal of Management, 29 (3), 428-444.
• Nonaka, I. & Takeuchı, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford University Press, New York.
• Nooshinfard, F. & Anaraki Nemati, L. (2014). Success factors of inter-organizational knowledge sharing: A proposed framework. The Electronic Library, 32 (2), 239-261.
• Özdemir, M. (2010). Nitel veri analizi: Sosyal bilimlerde yöntembilim sorunsalı üzerine bir çalışma. Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 11 (1), 323-343.
• Peng, Z. (2016). Towards a framework of reverse knowledge transfer by emerging economy multinationals: Evidence from Chinese MNE subsidiaries in the United States. Thunderbird International Business Review, 59 (3), 349-366.
• Rabbiosi, L. (2011). Subsidiary roles and reverse knowledge transfer: An investigation of the effects of coordination mechanism. Journal of International Management, 17 (2), 97-113.
• Saray, M. O. (2011). Doğrudan yabancı yatırımlar – istihdam ilişkisi: Türkiye örneği. Maliye Dergisi, 161, 381-403.
• Subaşı, M. & Okumuş, K. (2017). Bir araştırma yöntemi olarak durum çalışması. Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 21 (2), 419-426.
• Szulanski, G. (1996). Exploring internal stickiness: impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17 (52), 27-43.
• Şahin-Tan, K. & Mert, K. (2014). Türkiye’deki işletme gruplarının uluslararasılaşma motivasyonunun lokasyon ve giriş stratejisi üzerindeki etkisi. TİSK Akademi, 9 (18), 74- 97.
• Şahin, K., Tatoğlu, E., Mert, K., Kaplan, T. & Gölgeci, İ. (2022). Internationalization of Turkish business groups: Motives and institutional context. International Journal of Emerging Markets. Türken, S. (2018). Gelişmekte olan piyasalarda çeşitlendirme ve uluslararasılaşma stratejilerinin işletme grubu düzeyinde incelenmesi: Doğuş Grubu örneği. Stratejik Yönetim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1 (1), 7-43.
• Tavani-Najafi, Z., Giroud, A. & Sinkovics, R. R. (2012). Mediating effects in reverse knowledge transfer processes. Management International Review, 52 (3), 461-488.
• Ulaş, D. (2009). Küreselleşme sürecinde dışa açılma stratejileri. Nobel Yayın Dağıtım, 1. Basım, Ankara Van, W. R., Jansen, J. J. P. & Lyles, M. A. (2008). Inter- and intra-organizational knowledge transfer: A meta-analytic review and assessment of its antecedents and consequences. Journal of Management Studies, 45, 830-853.
• Wang, L. (2016). Knowledge transfer in multinational enterprises: Intra-firm and inter- firm perspectives (unpublished PhD Thesis). Southern New Hampshire University.
• Yang, Q., Mudambi, R. & Meyer, K. E. (2008). Conventional and reverse knowledge flows in multinational corporations. Journal of Management, 34 (5), 882-902.
• Yaprak, A. & Karademir, B. (2010. the internationalization of emerging market business groups: An integrated literature review. International Marketing Review, 27 (2), 245-262.
• Yıldırım, A. & Simsek, H. (2018). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri. 11. Baskı, Seçkin Yayıncılık, Ankara.
• Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage Publications, London. Zack, M. H. (1999). Developing a knowledge strategy. California Management Review, 41 (3), 125-145