Knowledge transfer processes in Romanian multinational companies

The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge transfers taking place between multinational companies and their locally dispersed subsidiaries. Focusing on the Romanian market it will shed some light on the way multinational companies - which have opened their subsidiaries rather recently in Romania - exploit the organizational knowledge stock and know-how in order to train their new employees. The Romanian economy and market characteristics have changed dramatically along the last decade, partly due to the penetration on the market of a series of multinational companies. For supporting knowledge creation in the Romanian subsidiaries, the headquarters should share and transfer knowledge to the newly created organizational entities characterized by separation through time, space, culture and language. It is also important to be aware of the specific cultural setting of the Romanian market. The case study performed on a multinational company, Nobel Romania, will analyze the way knowledge transfer was performed between headquarters and subsidiaries’ sales departments. Arguments will be drawn upon theory in knowledge management and related fields and an insider view of the process will be provided, along with in-depth interviews with people directly involved in transferring the know-how from headquarters to subsidiaries and people who have absorbed, combined and internalized the knowledge in the work process.