Investigating the antecedents of EMNEs’ expatriate knowledge transfer behaviors in developing economies

Purpose The international business (IB) literature emphasizes knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding as part of the knowledge transfer process. However, limited studies discuss the antecedents of the two practices in the same organization in international assignments. This study aims to explore the knowledge transfer practices of expatriates in emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) conducting international assignments in developing economies and identify the reasons why expatriates share knowledge and/or hide knowledge in interaction with the local environment. Design/methodology/approach In-depth, semistructured interviews with Chinese expatriates from a Chinese state-owned multinational enterprise (MNE) operating in three African countries were conducted to obtain their experience of knowledge transfer behaviors in international assignments. Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview data. Findings The results show that knowledge sharing is more common than knowledge hiding in the overseas operations of EMNEs in developing economies. Cooperation requirements, corporate incentives, company support and the host country environment facilitate knowledge sharing; conversely, competitiveness and company policies are related to expatriate knowledge-hiding behaviors in other emerging economies. Originality/value This paper provides the enlightenment of Chinese MNEs on knowledge management in overseas operations in developing economies and reflects the company’s system and practice in knowledge management from the level of expatriates, as well as the role of company practices in choosing knowledge sharing or hiding behaviors.