Reverse knowledge transfer from Central to Western Europe: Selected Case Studies

Abstract

Reverse knowledge transfer refers to the knowledge flow from the subsidiaries to the parent companies. The paper analyzes if the subsidiaries located in former transitional country (Slovakia) can create and transfer original knowledge to the parent companies in so-called developed Western Europe and focuses on the drivers, communication channels and contributions of such a knowledge flow for both, the headquarters and the subsidiaries. Qualitative research of four subsidiaries of multinational corporations was conducted to identify reverse knowledge transfers and to study them in-depth using case study method.