Organizational Innovation, Technological Innovation, and Export Performance: The Effects of Innovation Radicalness and Extensiveness

This study focuses on the relevance of different types of innovation for firms’ export performance. Despite ample research on the innovation–performance relationship, previous studies have mainly focused on technological innovations, leaving the effects of organizational innovations relatively unexplored. Hypotheses on the relationship between organizational and technological innovations and firm export performance are tested by structural equation modelling using data from 218 Swedish export ventures. The results indicate that organizational innovation enhances export performance both directly and indirectly by sustaining technological innovation. Moreover, by fine-graining our analysis of the mediating role of technological innovation, according to its radicalness and extensiveness, for organizational innovation, we show how the latter enhances both the radicalness and extensiveness of technological innovation although, notably, only extensiveness is actually beneficial for export performance. This study helps alleviate the scarcity of research examining the links among different types of innovation in relation to export performance and contributes to international business and marketing literature by generating new evidence regarding the mechanisms through which organizational and technological innovations may improve export performance

Changing perspectives on the internationalization of R&D and innovation by multinational enterprises: a review of the literature

Internationalization of R&D and innovation by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) has undergone a gradual and comprehensive change in perspective over the past 50 years. From sporadic works in the late 1950s and in the 1960s, it became a systematically analysed topic in the 1970s, starting with pioneering reports and “foundation texts”. Our review unfolds the theoretical and empirical evolution of the literature from dyadic interpretations of centralization versus decentralization of R&D by MNEs to more comprehensive frameworks, wherein established MNEs from Advanced Economies still play a pivotal role, but new players and places also emerge in the global generation and diffusion of knowledge. Hence views of R&D internationalization increasingly rely on concepts, ideas and methods from IB and other related disciplines such as industrial organization, international economics and economic geography. Two main findings are highlighted. First, scholarly research pays an increasing attention to the network-like characteristics of international R&D activities. Second, different streams of literature have emphasized the role of location- specific factors in R&D internationalization. The increasing emphasis on these aspects has created new research opportunities in some key areas, including inter alia: cross-border knowledge sourcing strategies, changes in the geography of R&D and innovation, and the international fragmentation of production and R&D activities

Joining forces to prevent the antibiotic resistance doomsday scenario: The rise of international multisectoral partnerships as a new governance model.

Humanity is facing a global threat caused by growing antibiotic resistance. If the current lack of innovation in antibiotics persists, we will face a doomsday scenario with drastic implications for society, health, and business worldwide. In this study, we examine international multisectoral partnerships (IMSPs), one of the policy interventions introduced to incentivize the antibiotic innovation necessary to avoid such a scenario. Based on insights from three recently launched antibiotics IMSPs, we present their key features and argue that such partnerships represent a novel type of organizational form and governance, different from others discussed in previous research. Specifically, antibiotics IMSPs are interorganizational structures showing great governance complexity, strong centralized control, strict boundaries, and formalization of roles and rules. We discuss how antibiotics IMSPs differ from other partnerships dealing, for instance, with the environmental global challenge, and their usefulness in other contexts where similar uncertain, risky, urgent, and complex tasks need to be faced. We conclude with implications for theory as well as for policy and managerial practice, along with avenues for future research

Knowledge sourcing from advanced markets subsidiaries: Political embeddedness and reverse knowledge transfer barriers in emerging-market multinationals

This article focuses on emerging-market multinationals and their intent to source knowledge from advanced countries. A single in-depth case study of a Chinese state-owned multinational is used to shed light on the relationship between political embeddedness and the potential to reverse knowledge transfer from advanced market subsidiaries. Specifically, we argue that a strong home-country political embeddedness enhances specific organizational barriers to reverse knowledge transfer, which undermines the strategic intent of knowledge-seeking internationalization, common to much Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by emerging-market multinationals in recent years. This article contributes to research on knowledge sourcing within the context of south-north FDI by highlighting specific effects of political embeddedness at organizational level, which are critical for the possibilities to reverse knowledge transfer; our study is also relevant to international business, as new empirical insights related to the international organization and management of state-owned multinationals are discussed

Demand and willingness for knowledge transfer in springboard subsidiaries of Chinese multinationals

It is often assumed that Chinese multinationals invest overseas to obtain knowledge. Acknowledging political ties as an important aspect of Chinese multinationals, we investigate the respective interests of headquarters and subsidiaries to support knowledge transfer from host countries to China. Based on data from 177 headquarters-subsidiary relationships, our findings indicate that political ties of Chinese headquarters increase the organizational distance between headquarters and subsidiaries. This distance has a positive impact on headquarters\u2019 demand for subsidiary knowledge transfer, but a negative effect on the subsidiaries\u2019 willingness to actually transfer knowledge. This suggests that Chinese multinationals with strong political ties have to spend efforts in aligning the motives of headquarters and subsidiaries concerning knowledge transfer practices. This study contributes to the research on Chinese multinationals, cross-border knowledge acquisition, and the springboard perspective by shedding light on post-internationalization managerial challenges related to a knowledge-seeking strategy

Reverse innovation transfer in Chinese MNCs: The role of political ties and headquarters

Innovation augmentation via internationalization is motivated by headquarters entrepreneurial role in Chinese multinationals. Drawing on the parenting theory, this paper investigates the effects of headquarters' political ties and the degree of internationalization on headquarters competence contribution to subsidiary and the extent of reverse innovation transfer. Based on a survey of 177 subsidiaries in 99 Chinese multinationals via two questionnaires, the empirical results show that, while the degree of internationalization enhances both the headquarters' entrepreneurial role in providing competence to subsidiary, and subsidiary reverse innovation transfer efforts, the strength of headquarters' political ties in the home country has detrimental effects on the degree of internationalization and on headquarters' competence contribution to subsidiaries, which eventually hinders reverse innovation transfer practices. This means that, although internationalization may unlock benefits for Chinese multinationals, their political ties may hinder their fulfillment. This study contributes to parenting theory and to research on firms' internationalization, particularly in the context of emerging-market multinationals