Description
Book SynopsisMultinational Enterprises, Innovative Strategies and Systems of Innovation explores the extent to which multinational enterprises (MNEs) are decentralising the creation of new technological capabilities to various different countries. The book contends that technological strategies and innovation activities undertaken by firms are a critical part of the increasing internationalisation of economic activity, and that MNEs are the main actors for these changes. It goes on to explain that MNEs must now effectively manage new technological assets in order to cope with extensive changes in the nature of international competition.
Experts from a network of thirteen European countries attempt to promote a better understanding of tendencies towards a new international dynamic of technology creation and diffusion. The contributors to the book then explore the factors determining the process of decentralisation and the resulting consequences for national systems of innovation.
This thorough and easily accessible analysis of new trends in the technological strategies of MNEs and their implications for national systems of innovation will be of enormous interest to those specialising in the internationalisation of the economy or the economic analysis of technical change. In addition, the book will provide an excellent source of background information for policymakers when drafting new policies, and for corporate decision-making in the private sector.
Trade Review'This is a richly crafted book, written by economists for economists. Senior decision makers in industry and policymakers charged with improving the competitive health of regions also will find the book useful. The high percentage of empirical data also will appeal to many academics.' -- Steven MacGregor, Journal of Product Innovation Management
'. . . interested readers will find valuable theoretical and empirical insights into the multifaceted, complex and sometimes contradictory character of the internationalization of corporate R&D. . .' -- Bernard Dachs, Journal of Evolutionary Economics
Table of ContentsContents: Introduction Part I: New Trends in MNE Technological Organisation: Centralisation versus Decentralisation 1. Global Innovation Strategies of MNEs: Implications for Host Economies 2. Path-dependency and Coherence in International Networks of Technological Innovation 3. Linking Corporate-wide Global R&D Activities 4. Germany and the Internationalisation of Industrial R&D: New Trends and Old Patterns 5. Understanding the Growth of International R&D Alliances Part II: The Interactions Between MNEs and Systems of Innovation 6. Partnerships for Knowledge in Business and Academia: A Comparison Between Europe and the USA 7. The Technological Strategies of Multinational Enterprises: Their Implications for National Systems of Innovation 8. Networks and Learning Processes: A Case Study on the Automotive Industry in Portugal 9. Foreign Involvement in Acquiring and Producing New Knowledge: The Case of Hungary 10. National Innovation Systems: Absorptive Capacity and Firm Competitiveness Epilogue: After the Stock Market Turnabout: Questions and Hypotheses Index
