Do we really know the predictors of competence-creating R&D subsidiaries? Uncovering the mediation of dual network embeddedness
Fariza Achcaoucaou,
Paloma Miravitlles and
Fidel León-Darder
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2017, vol. 116, issue C, 181-195
Abstract:
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.
Keywords: Technology strategy; R&D; Network embeddedness; Multinational; Subsidiary; Competence-creating role (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8) Track citations by RSS feed
Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162516304814
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:116:y:2017:i:c:p:181-195
DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2016.10.019
Access Statistics for this article
Technological Forecasting and Social Change is currently edited by Fred Phillips
More articles in Technological Forecasting and Social Change from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().