How the tech decoupling impacts knowledge management for MNEs

Abstract

The global business environment, with a focus on the United States, China, and Europe, is currently altering as a consequence of the tech decoupling. The change is predominantly driven by market measures and new regulations, exemplified by bans of foreign companies in local regions and restricted cross-border transfer and data processing. Consequently, there may be effects on the world economy as well as on how multinational enterprises (MNEs) collaborate internally. This study focuses on the latter, with emphasis on knowledge management due to knowledge's fundamental importance for companies to be competitive. The tech decoupling paradigm is contemporary with sparse research in the knowledge management field. Hence, the study aimed to explore challenges for knowledge management for MNEs using a qualitative and inductive approach based on expert interviews within the IT field from a MNE and desk research. Findings concern intensification of already discovered challenges for the company such as to deal with tacit knowledge and utilization of IT, handling the cultural complexity, and the development of new organizational structures. Furthermore, two new challenges are found: i) Localized knowledge resulting can cause new power balances, and ii) potential restrictiveness among the employees to share knowledge cross-border