Knowledge sharing and skills development between a multinational and its subsidiaries in the context of foreign trade and international business

Abstract

In a context of rigorous competition amongst enterprises, in which offering a differential is mandatory for survival, the sharing of knowledge plays an important role in stimulating the development of companies and improving their delivery performance levels to their clients. For enterprises operating international businesses, such context plays an even bigger role, justified by the greater cultural and socioeconomic differences of the international scope. The main theme of this essay is the sharing of knowledge and development of skills between a multinational company and its subsidiaries. This paper aims at understanding how the sharing of knowledge and the development of skills within a multinational company and its subsidiaries contribute to a greater level of delivery performance to its global clients, regarding foreign trade and international businesses activities. This was an exploratory, qualitative research study, conducted by means of a unique case study on the relationship between a U.S. multinational and one of its global clients.