Title: The impact of OFDI on firm innovation in an emerging country

Authors: Hang Wu; Jin Chen; Yang Liu

Addresses: Business School, East China University of Politics and Law, Shanghai 201620, China ' School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China ' School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Room A317, Shantou Alumni Building, #381, Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510640, China

Abstract: This study investigates whether and to what extent EM MNEs employ OFDI for knowledge-seeking and knowledge-integration purposes to improve their innovation capability at home. Extending previous studies that have identified the knowledge-seeking motives and also provided some evidence for their validity, our study aims to examine how such OFDI can benefit the innovation performance of EM MNEs at home. Using survey data from a sample of manufacturing firms in China, we demonstrate that OFDI is positively related to innovation performance. We also find that the positive relationship between OFDI and innovation performance is stronger when foreign firms have acquired an ownership interest in an EM MNE and when they have higher R&D intensity. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Keywords: innovation; OFDI; emerging market multinational enterprises; EM MNEs; state ownership; China.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2017.083609

International Journal of Technology Management, 2017 Vol.74 No.1/2/3/4, pp.167 - 184

Accepted: 27 Sep 2015
Published online: 12 Apr 2017 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article