Subsidiary level determinants of reverse knowledge transfer in emerging markets multinationals

We examine the effects of subsidiary level factors on reverse knowledge transfer (RKT) in emerging market multinationals (EM-MNEs). We formulate six hypotheses and test them using firm level data from 101 Indian multinationals. Our results indicate that subsidiaries that perform the role of specialised contributors contribute more towards RKT than subsidiaries that perform the role of world mandate or local implementer, and the higher the competitive index of the host country the greater the level of RKT. Our results also show that higher levels of collaboration between the subsidiary and the parent facilitate RKT and this effect is more prominent in high technology and knowledge intensive industries.