Managing Global Research and Development in China: Patterns of R&D Configuration and Evolution
Technology Analysis & Strategic Management Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 317-337, September 2005
Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Business School Research Paper, Forthcoming
22 Pages Posted: 20 Jul 2007
Abstract
The growing internationalization of R&D activities challenges multinational corporations (MNCs) to formulate technology strategies and manage increasingly diffuse and diverse networks of R&D laboratories and alliances in the context of disparate national institutions. This paper examines the evolutionary processes of MNCs' R&D strategies in china in terms of two principal dimensions, i.e. geographic dispersion and functional focus. Based on a study of 378 international R&D centers and alliances established in China over the 1995-2001 period, we investigate the evolution of managing international R&D configurations in an emerging economy. The model is further illustrated with key findings from case studies of three leading high-tech MNCs in managing their global R&D operations in China over 1996-2004, specifically Fujitsu, Motorola and Nokia. This study contributes to the existing literature by exploring the globalization of R&D through foreign centers of scientific and technological excellence, which enables MNCs to innovate closer to their product markets and manufacturing facilities in emerging markets.
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