Organizing international technological collaboration in subcontractor relationships: an investigation of the knowledge-stickiness problem

Technological knowledge is often claimed to be context-bound and sticking t o local surroundings. This paper investigates how technological knowledge c an be exchanged in international subcontractor relationships, using relatio nship-oriented organizational practices. Seven hypotheses concerning such p ractices are tested, It is shown that the use of relationship-oriented prac tices varies with exports and the active development of subcontractors in p roduct and process development activities. Moreover, international developm ent-oriented subcontractors are more likely to use interpersonal exchange, electronic data interchange and formalized contracts than other types of su bcontractors. Research implications as well as managerial implications are derived. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.