Knowledge structure and knowledge transfer inside parent-subsidiary corporations

Much attention has been focused on knowledge transfer as a process of strategic importance in Parent-subsidiary corporations. The relationship of Parent-subsidiary corporations, in essence, is characterized as the process of knowledge transfer between parent company and its subsidiaries. In this paper, we put forward the basic model of knowledge structure of the Parent-subsidiary corporations using one approach of knowledge structure analysis. On the basis of it, we spell out the nature of the relationship between parent-subsidiary corporations by analyzing the knowledge transfer between parent company and its subsidiaries. It points out that in the process of formation and development of parent-subsidiary corporations, the corporate knowledge structure are uniquely formed through the mutual transfer and expansion of organizing knowledge and functional knowledge. Furthermore, it identifies eight types of knowledge transferred between parent company and its subsidiaries in order to reveal the characteristics of interaction between parent company and its subsidiaries and provide practical guidance to dyad relationship management of parent-subsidiary corporations.