Augmenting Local Managerial Capacity Through Knowledge Collectivities: The Case of Volvo Car China

The investigation of socialization as a conduit of knowledge transfer and development (KTD) to subsidiaries in emerging economies is still in its infancy. This paper aims to discern empirically and theoretically the underlying mechanisms of interpersonal-level micro-foundations of socialization as a conduit of KTD in emerging economy subsidiaries. This study draws on a four-year longitudinal in-depth qualitative case study of Volvo Car China. The observational unit is the subsidiaries' temporal dual management constellations referred to as matched pairs (MPs). The study illustrates how the MPs acted as a means of temporal socialization, conducive in the creation of knowledge collectivities that aided in the development of local managerial capacity. A grounded model with four overarching theoretical dimensions is developed and discussed to illustrate the theoretical insights derived from this study. The main overarching disclosure is the prevalence of recursive interrelatedness between competence and competency of the individual, context-, and the expansion of managerial capacity. Findings of the case study opens up for a more nuanced view on transferring- and developing tacit and explicit knowledge in a context with less dense social capital. The study contributes to research on knowledge transfer and development, managerial capacity development, and internationalization of multinational corporations.