Knowledge flows in MNCs:An empirical test and extension of Gupta's & Govindarajan's typology of subsidiary roles

This study offers an empirical test and extension of Gupta and Govindarajan's typology of subsidiary roles based on knowledge inflows and outflows. A four-fold typology of subsidiary roles—global innovators, integrated players, implementors and local innovators—is tested using a sample of 169 subsidiaries of MNCs headquartered in the US, Japan, UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands. Results confirm the typology and show that different subsidiary roles are associated with different control mechanisms, relative capabilities and product flows. In comparison to earlier studies, our results show an increased differentiation between subsidiaries, as well as an increase in the relative importance of both knowledge and product flows between subsidiaries suggesting that MNCs are getting closer to the ideal-type of the transnational company

The "country-of-origin effect" in multinational corporations: Sources mechanisms and moderating conditions

This conceptual paper examines the role of country-of-origin effects in MNCs. It deals with definitional problems and discusses both the sources of the country-of-origin effect, and the mechanisms through which it manifests itself. The strength of the country-of-origin effect is hypothesized to be moderated by factors related to both the home country and the MNC