Finding Knowledge: The Role of Reputation in Knowledge-Transfer to Chinese Companies

Knowledge-transfer relationships have become an increasingly important issue for firms in emerging economies; they offer a means of upgrading skills in the face of growing international competition. Knowledge-transfer relationships also are very difficult. Firms face uncertainties about both the types of knowledge needed, and the ability of potential partners to supply necessary knowledge (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008).

Research on the knowledge-based view of the firm, reputation and status can provide insight into these problems. We use concepts from these areas of work to analyze knowledge-transfer in a sample of Chinese SMEs. We find that the status of partner firms provides an indicator of possessing valuable knowledge. This information can reduce some of the uncertainties of knowledge-transfer faced by managers.

The research also addresses a gap in the work on knowledge-transfer. Few studies have examined the direct relationship between knowledge-transfer and performance (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008; Williams, 2007). It also contributes to the study of emerging economy business from the standpoint of local firms (Hitt et al., 2000).