Marketing Knowledge Sharing Intention and Practices among Foreign Subsidiaries of MNEs

This study is aimed at (1) exploring the antecedents of marketing knowledge sharing intention which is a prerequisite for marketing knowledge sharing behavior, (2) analyzing whether the intention to engage in marketing knowledge sharing is put into action, and (3) examining the factors which influence the possibility that marketing knowledge sharing intention leads to actual behavior. For the research objectives, a research model is built on the basis of the theory of planned behavior. Moreover, it suggests the support from its headquarter as the moderating factors in the relationship between intention and actual behavior of marketing knowledge sharing as the headquarter should play a role of minimizing the gap between the intention and the actual behavior in order to promote intra-organizational marketing knowledge sharing. The primary data for the empirical analysis to test the hypotheses were collected through the survey of foreign subsidiaries of Korean MNEs publicly listed in the Korean Stock Exchange in December 2010. The results of path analysis indicate that marketing knowledge sharing intention should be formed in advance and this intention is strengthened as important stakeholders expect or allow for the subsidiaries to engage in marketing knowledge sharing. In addition, when their practices of marketing knowledge sharing are positively evaluated and rewarded by their headquarters in Korea, there is a greater likelihood that intention of marketing knowledge sharing leads to actual practices.