Do we really know the predictors of competence-creating R&D subsidiaries? Uncovering the mediation of dual network embeddedness
Many changes have been recorded in the R&D role played by the foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs), to the extent that today many are recognised as key players in the development of firm innovation-related competences. Given this trend, we examine the predictors of a subsidi...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión aceptada para publicación |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2017 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/107742 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/107742 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Empreses multinacionals Empreses filials Recerca industrial Subsidiarietat International business enterprises Subsidiary corporations Industrial research Subsidiarity |
| Sumario: | Many changes have been recorded in the R&D role played by the foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs), to the extent that today many are recognised as key players in the development of firm innovation-related competences. Given this trend, we examine the predictors of a subsidiary's R&D role as a competence-creating contributor to the MNC's long-term success. Traditionally, the predictors of subsidiaries' R&D roles have been sought in the specific features of the internal corporate and external host-country environments. However, we find that favourable corporate- and country-level conditions may not necessarily lead to the enhancement of a subsidiary's R&D role unless dual embeddedness - that is, the subsidiary's embeddedness in the knowledge networks of the MNC (internal embeddedness) and in those of the host country (external embeddedness) - is well established. The main contribution of this paper is the development of a multiple mediation model that disentangles the way in which corporate and host-country environments interrelate with a subsidiary's dual embeddedness in the expected configuration of its competence-creating R&D role. In developing the model, we use the PLS-SEM method to estimate the relationship between these elements and, eventually, to forecast the subsidiary's competence-creating R&D role. The proposed model should help managers shape the fate of the subsidiary's R&D strategic role. |
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