EMBEDDED FIRMS, EMBEDDED KNOWLEDGE - PROBLEMS OF COLLABORATION AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN GLOBAL COOPERATIVE VENTURES

Research on global cooperative ventures has tended to focus on governa nce forms and task structures. This study highlights the importance of knowledge structures and work systems in influencing the success of c ollaborative ventures. Based on an empirical analysis of a close colla boration in the knowledge-intensive area between a Japanese and a Brit ish high-technology firm, it illustrates how the socially embedded nat ure of knowledge can impede cross-border collaborative work and knowle dge transfer. The research has applied and extended Michael Polanyi's concept of 'tacit knowledge' in a much wider context. It develops a co nceptual framework for analyzing the main differences and 'points of f riction' between the Japanese 'organizational' and the British 'profes sional' models of the organization of knowledge in high-level technica l work. It shows how the dominant form of knowledge held in organizati ons, its degree of tacitness, and the way in which it is structured, u tilized and transmitted can vary considerably between firms in differe nt societal settings. These differences are shown to have contributed to project failures, weakened the technological relationship between t he partner firms over time and led to asymmetry in knowledge transfer.