From Embeddedness to Implementation: A Transposition Theory Perspective on Reverse Knowledge Transfer in South Korean MNCs

ABSTRACT Reverse knowledge transfer (RKT) is essential for multinational corporations to benefit from employees' international experience, but repatriates often face difficulties in transferring knowledge gained abroad. Drawing on transposition theory, this study examines how pre‐expatriation embeddedness and host organization exposure shape RKT outcomes, and how the presence of peer repatriates moderates these relationships. We conceptualize repatriates as change agents who seek to translate, adapt, and legitimize external knowledge within their home organizations through processes of disembedding, recontextualization, and implementing new practices. Using survey data from 177 South Korean repatriates, we find that pre‐expatriation embeddedness and host organization exposure both positively affect RKT, and that peer repatriates strengthen the effect of embeddedness but not exposure. These results advance the understanding of RKT by highlighting the importance of conditions established before expatriation, and they apply transposition theory to identify the mechanisms of legitimacy and adaptation that enable contextual translation.