Dependent objects are assets that other assets require.
For example, a business entity uses a source system in its configuration. A source system is a dependent object for the business entity.
When you set up an export, you can include or exclude dependent objects in the export file. The dependent objects must exist either in the export file or in the target organization, else the import fails.
Note: When you export a reference data, only the code list definitions are exported. Code values aren't exported. For more information about exporting reference data, see the Manage code values chapter in the Informatica MDM - Reference 360 help.
You can include dependent assets if they do not exist in the target organization. Also, you can include dependent assets if you want to replace the dependent assets in the target organization with updated versions from the source organization. If you include dependent assets, the export file includes dependent assets for all the assets that you include in the export job. When you configure the import job, you can choose the dependent assets to import.
You can exclude dependent assets of an asset if the assets exist in the target organization and you do not want to replace them.