Title: The internationalisation of Western firms' R&D in China

Authors: Oliver Gassmann, Marcus Matthias Keupp

Addresses: Institute of Technology Management, University of St. Gallen, Dufourstrasse 40a, CH-9000 Sankt Gallen, Switzerland. ' Institute of Technology Management, University of St. Gallen, Dufourstrasse 40a, CH-9000 Sankt Gallen, Switzerland

Abstract: During the last ten years, 400 out of the Fortune Top 500 have established at least one R&D unit in China. We investigate into this highly relevant phenomenon that seems to contradict existing theory on international R&D. We propose that there is a missing link in theory, developing this link by introducing the concept of multiplicative capacity in analogy to Cohen and Levinthal|s absorptive capacity. We test our propositions by using data from a survey we did on Western firms| R&D activities in China. Results show a good applicability of our concept and its relations to the competitive advantage theory.

Keywords: research and development; international R&D; international management; multinational corporations; MNCs; China; exact methods; nonparametric statistics; Western firms; multiplicative capacity; competitive advantage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2008.019501

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2008 Vol.6 No.4, pp.536 - 561

Published online: 14 Jul 2008 *

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