Investing in Localized Relationships with Universities: What are the Benefits for RD Subsidiaries of Multinational Enterprises?
Journal article, 2009

In spite of a long-standing interest in the distribution of knowledge spillovers from university research, there is only limited theoretical understanding of if and when opportunities to interact with a research university constitute a significant force of attraction for globally mobile investment in RD. Based on an empirical investigation of the benefits of interaction with universities, this paper proposes an analytical framework and four ideal types of strategy for localised collaboration between RD subsidiaries and universities. This taxonomy, which largely transcends industry sectors, and the illustrative cases presented in this paper provide insights into the potential scope for localised university-industry interaction from the perspective of multinational enterprises. By connecting the empirical results to the question whether these benefits are significant enough to enhance a region's attractiveness as a location for RD, we are able to develop a better understanding of the alternative strategies for policymakers and university leaders interested in stimulating such linkages.

foreign subsidiaries

academic research

localisation of RD

knowledge spillovers

multinational enterprises

internationalization

Knowledge spillovers

interaction

location

corporations

university-industry

management

strategies

research-and-development

industrial-innovation

Author

A. Brostrom

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Tomas McKelvey

University of Gothenburg

Christian Sandström

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Innovation and R&D Management

Industry and Innovation

1366-2716 (ISSN) 1469-8390 (eISSN)

Vol. 16 1 59-78

Subject Categories

Other Mechanical Engineering

DOI

10.1080/13662710902728076

More information

Latest update

2/26/2018