Knowledge transfer in collaborations between foreign and indigenous firms in the Nigerian oil industry: The role of partners' motivational characteristics

• Author: Okey Okonkwo
• Date: 01 March 2019
• Published date: 01 March 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/tie.22012

AREA PERSPECTIVES: AFRICA

Knowledge transfer in collaborations between foreign

and indigenous firms in the Nigerian oil industry: The role

of partners' motivational characteristics

Okey Okonkwo

Christ Church Business School, Canterbury

Christ Church University, Canterbury, UK

Correspondence

Okey Okonkwo, Christ Church Business

School, Canterbury Christ Church University,

Canterbury, Kent CT1 1QU, UK.

Email: okey.okonkwo@canterbury.ac.uk

Previous empirical studies on determinants of interfirm knowledge transfer have been largely

focused on knowledge transfer between symmetrical partners, where there are relatively similar

levels of knowledge sophistication and complementary knowledge-transfer motives. Determi-

nants of knowledge transfer between partners in asymmetric “market-exploitation”alliances,

where there are large differences in capabilities, and in motives, of the collaborating partners,

have been understudied. This article presents a qualitative case study-research of knowledge

transfer in such collaborations in the Nigerian oil industry. Four cases of interfirm collaborative

arrangements between foreign and local indigenous firms in the industry were studied and ana-

lyzed. Based on the results of the case study research, this article highlights the dominant role

of partners' motivational characteristics, as against, their cognitive characteristics in the

knowledge-transfer process of asymmetric market-exploitation alliances. It develops a set of

theoretical propositions to expand the understanding of the key determinants of learning and

knowledge transfer.

KEYWORDS

alliance learning, developing countries, interfirm collaborations, Knowledge-transfer

determinants, Nigeria

1|INTRODUCTION

The importance of knowledge as a strategic resource that provides

firms with competitive advantage has been widely acknowledged

(e.g., Grant, 1996; Inkpen, 2008; Kogut & Zander, 1992; Liebeskind,

1996). As competition becomes increasingly knowledge-based, the

ability of firms to learn and develop capabilities faster than their rivals

is argued to be a source of competitive advantage (Prahalad & Hamel,

1990). Consequently, learning and knowledge transfer, both within a

firm and between firms, are considered a source of sustainable com-

petitive advantage. This particularly applies to interfirm collaborative

arrangements, such as strategic alliances, which are identified widely

as means through which firms access, acquire, transfer, share, and

exploit knowledge resources that are otherwise unavailable within the

firm (Grant & Baden-Fuller, 2004; Inkpen, 1998; Lavie, 2006).

While interfirm knowledge transfer is strategically important, the

process of transferring knowledge is adjudged to be very difficult

(Inkpen & Tsang, 2005). Apart from difficulties emanating from the

stickiness/tacitness of knowledge (Simonin, 1999; Szulanski, 1996),

partner firms seeking to acquire or transfer knowledge through their

alliances need to possess the appropriate characteristics that enable

knowledge to be acquired, transferred, shared, and utilized. For

instance, a recipient firm's motivation to learn and its cognitive ability

to acquire knowledge have been argued to influence the extent of

knowledge transfer between the recipient and the source firms

(Hamel, 1991; Lane & Lubatkin, 1998; Pérez-Nordtvedt, Kedia,

Datta, & Rasheed, 2008). Without appropriate partners' characteris-

tics, knowledge transfer/acquisition may not be achieved.

Generally, research on interfirm (and often interunit) knowledge

transfer has constantly emphasized the characteristics of knowledge

sources and knowledge recipients to be key determinants of knowl-

edge transfer (e.g., Easterby-Smith, Lyles, & Tsang, 2008; Jasimuddin,

Li, & Perdikis, 2015; Lawson & Potter, 2012; Minbaeva, 2007). These

characteristics include “motivational factors”such as learning intent

(LI) and knowledge-transfer willingness (KTW), as well as “cognitive

factors”such as absorptive capacity or retentive capacity. However,

although the importance of both motivational and cognitive character-

istics as determinants of knowledge transfer was illustrated in

DOI: 10.1002/tie.22012

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