Unique firm-level data from 287 majority-owned foreign affiliates (MOFAs) located in West Sweden are used to analyse the extent in which transnational corporations (TNCs) in a developed host country have established technological linkages, leading to collective technology learning where both TNCs and their local business partners benefit. The findings indicate that local business partners have established substantial levels of organised technological cooperation, not only with manufacturing MOFAs but also with wholesale MOFAs supplying industrial products. This seems to result in collective technology learning where both MOFAs and business partners in Sweden, especially customers, earn advantages. In the case of manufacturing MOFAs, local business partners in West Sweden seem to be important as cooperative partners. By using a multiple logistic regression to analyse key determinants, it was found that the size of MOFAs positively affected the establishment of technological linkages to business partners in Sweden, among both manufacturing MOFAs and sales MOFAs. A positive correlation with linkage formation was also found among manufacturing MOFAs regarding both increasing age and the extent in which they operate within competitive Swedish industry clusters.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AminABradleyDHowelsJTomaneyJGerithC, 1994, “Regional incentives and the quality of mobile investments in the less favoured regions of the EC”Progress in Planning411–112.
2.
AnderssonUJohansonJVahlneJ-E, 1997, “Organic acquisitions in the internationalization process of the business firm”Management International Review37(2) 67–84.
3.
AntonelliC, 1999, “The evolution of the industrial organisation of the production of knowledge”Cambridge Journal of Economics23243–260.
4.
ArchibugiDMichieJ (Eds), 1997Technology, Globalisation and Economic Performance (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).
5.
ArchibugiDMichieJ (Eds), 1998Trade, Growth and Technical Change (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).
6.
ArchibugiDHowellsJMichieJ, 1999Innovation Policy in a Global Economy (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).
7.
AshcroftBLoveJ H, 1993Takeovers, Mergers and the Regional Economy (Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh).
8.
BarkemaH GBellJ H JPenningsJ M, 1996, “Foreign entry, cultural barriers, and learning”Strategic Management Journal17151–166.
9.
BarnesTGertlerM S (Eds), 1999The New Industrial Geography: Regions, Regulation and Institutions (Routledge, London).
10.
BrandSHillSMundayM, 2000, “Assessing the impact of foreign manufacturing on regional economies: The case of Wales, Scotland and West Midlands”Regional Studies34343–355.
11.
CaloriRLubatkinMVeryR, 1993, “Managing mergers across borders: a test of the administrative heritage and administrative rigidity”, paper presented at the 53rd annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Atlanta, GA.
12.
CamagniR, 1991, “Local ‘milieu’, uncertainty and innovation networks: Towards a new dynamic theory of economic space”, in Innovation Networks: Spatial Perspectives Ed. CamagniR (Belhaven, London) pp 124–144.
13.
CantwellJ, 1988, “The reorganisation of European industries after integration: Selected evidence on the role of multinational enterprise activities”, in Multinationals and the European Community Eds DunningJ HRobssonP (Blackwell, Oxford) pp 25–49.
14.
CantwellJ, 1995, “The globalisation of technology: What remains of the product cycle model?”Cambridge Journal of Economics19155–174.
15.
CantwellJ, 1999, “From the early internationalization of corporate technology to global technology sourcing”Transnational Corporations8(2) 71–92.
16.
CantwellJImmarinoS, 2000, “Multinational corporations and the location of technological innovation in the UK regions”Regional Studies34317–332.
17.
CavesR E, 1971, “International corporations, the industrial economics of foreign investments”Economics38(February) 1–27.
18.
ChakrabartiA KHauschildtJSuverkrupC, 1994, “Does it pay to acquire technological firms?R&D Management2447–56.
19.
ClarkG LFeldmanM PGertlerM S (Eds), 2000The Oxford Handbook of Economic Geography (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
20.
CroneM, 2001, “Local learning from multinational plants: Knowledge transfer in the supply chain”Local Economy15325–337.
21.
CroneMRoperS, 1999, “Knowledge transfer from multinational plants in Northern Ireland: Local learning in the supply chain”, NIERC Report Series 15, Northern Ireland Economic Research Centre, Belfast.
22.
DanielsP W, 2000, “Export of services or servicing exports?”Geografiska Annaler82B1–15.
23.
De MeyerA, 1992, “Management of international R&D operations”, in Technology Management and International Business. Internationalization of R&D and Technology Eds GranstrandOHákanssonLSjölanderS (John Wiley, Sussex) pp 163–176.
24.
De VetJ MScottA J, 1992, “The Southern California medical device industry: Innovation, new firm formation and location”Research Policy21145–161.
25.
DickenP, 1998Global Shift: Transforming the World Economy (Guilford, New York).
26.
DickenPForsgrenMMalmbergA, 1994, “The local embeddedness of transnational corporations”, in Globalization, Institutions, and Regional Development in Europe Eds AminAThriftN (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 23–45.
27.
DriffieldNMundayM, 2000, “Industrial performance, agglomeration and foreign manufacturing in the UK”Journal of International Business Studies3121–37.
28.
DunningJ H, 1986Japanese Participation in British Industry (Croom Helm, London).
29.
DunningJ H, 1993Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy (Addison-Wesley, Harlow, Essex).
30.
DunningJ H, 1994a, “Re-evaluating the benefits of foreign direct investment”Transnational Corporations1(February) 23–52.
31.
DunningJ H, 1994b, “Multinational enterprises and the globalization of innovation capacity”Research Policy2367–88.
32.
DunningJ H, 1995, “Reappraising the eclectic paradigm in the age of alliance capitalism”Journal of International Business Studies third quarter, 461–493.
33.
DunningJ H, 1996, “The geographical sources of competitiveness of firms: Some results of a new survey”Transnational Corporations5(3) 1–30.
34.
DunningJ H, 1997aAlliance Capitalism and Global Business (Routledge, London).
35.
DunningJ H, 2000, “The eclectic paradigm as an envelope for economic and business theories of MNE activity”International Business Review9163–190.
36.
DunningJ HWymbsC, 1999, “The geographical sourcing of technology-based assets by multinational enterprises”, in Innovation Policy in a Global Economy Eds ArchibugiDHowellsJ (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) pp 185–224.
37.
EnrightM J, 1998, “Regional clusters and firm strategy”, in The Dynamic Firm: The Role of Technology, Strategy, Organization and Regions Eds ChandlerA DJrSölvellÖHagströmP (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 315–342.
38.
ForsgrenMHolmUJohansonJ, 1991, “Internationalization of the second degree: The emergence of European-based centres in Swedish firms”, in Europe and the Multinationals. Issues and Responses for the 1990s Eds YoungSHamillJ (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos) pp 235–253.
39.
GassmanOVon ZedtwitzM, 1998, “Organization of industrial R&D on a global scale”R&D Management28(3) 147–161.
40.
GerpottT J, 1995, “Successful integration of R&D functions after acquisitions: An exploratory empirical study”R&D Management25161–179.
41.
GrayH P, 1999Global Economic Involvement: A Synthesis of Modern International Economics (Copenhagen Business School Press, Copenhagen).
42.
GrayH PDunningJ H, 2000, “Toward a theory of regional policy”, in Regions, Globalization and the Knowledge-based Economy Ed. DunningJ H (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 409–434.
43.
HåkanssonL, 1995, “Learning through acquisitions: Management and integration of foreign R&D laboratories”International Studies of Management and Organisation25(1–2) 121–157.
44.
HedlundGRolanderD, 1991, “Actions in heterarchies: New approaches to managing the MNC”, in Managing the Global Firm Eds BartlettC ADozYHedlundG (Routledge, London) pp 15–46.
45.
HirschS, 1993, “The globalization of services and service-intensive goods industries”, in Transnational Corporation in Services Eds SauvantK PMallampallyP (Routledge, London) pp 75–87.
46.
IvarssonI, 1996, “Integrated international production: a survey of foreign transnational corporations in Sweden”, Series, B, number 90, Department of Geography, University of Göteborg, Göteborg.
47.
IvarssonI, 1999, “Competitive industry clusters and inward TNC investments: The case of Sweden”Regional Studies3337–50.
48.
IvarssonI, 2002, “TNCs and the geographical transfer of localised technology: A Multi-industry study of foreign affiliates in Sweden”Journal of Economic Geography2(2) 1–28.
49.
IvarssonIVahlneJ E, 2002, “Technology integration through international acquisitions: The case of foreign manufacturing TNCs in Sweden”Scandinavian Journal of Management181–27.
50.
JohansonJVahlneJ E, 1977, “The internationalization process of the firm—a model of knowledge development and increasing market commitments”Journal of International Business Studies823–32.
51.
KeebleDLawssonCMooreBWilkinsonF, 1999, “Collective learning processes, networking and ‘Institutional thickness’ in the Cambridge region”Regional Studies33319–332.
52.
KotabeMOmuraG S, 1989, “Sourcing strategies of European and Japanese multinationals: A Comparison”Journal of International Business Studies20113–129.
53.
KrugmanP, 1995Development, Geography and Economic Theory (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA).
54.
LallS, 1978, “The patterns of intra-firm exports by US multinationals”Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics40 (August) 209–222.
55.
LawsonC, 1999, “Towards a competence theory of the region”Cambridge Journal of Economics23151–166.
56.
LundvallB-Å, 1988, “Innovation as an interactive process: From user–producer interaction to the national systems of innovation”, in Technical Change and Economic Theory Ed. DosiGFreemanCNelsonRSilverbergGSoeteL (Pinter, London) pp 349–369.
57.
MalmbergASölvellÖZanderI, 1996, “Spatial clustering, local accumulation of knowledge and firm competitiveness”Geografiska Annaler B285–97.
58.
MaskellPEskelinenHHannibalssonIMalmbergAVatneE, 1998Competitiveness, Localised Learning and Regional Development (Routledge, London).
59.
NordströmK A, 1991The Internationalization Process of the Firm—Searching for New Patterns and Explanations (The Institute of International Business, Stockholm).
60.
OECD, 1994The Performance of Foreign Affiliates in OECD Countries (OECD, Paris).
61.
PapanastassiouM, 1999, “Technology and production strategies of multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries in Europe”International Business Review8213–232.
62.
PapanastassiouMPearceR D, 1999Multinationals, Technology and National Competitiveness (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos).
63.
PearceR D, 1999, “The evolution of technology in multinational enterprises: The role of creative subsidiaries”International Business Review8125–148.
64.
PhelpsN A, 1993, “Branch plants and the evolving spatial division of labour: A Study of material linkage change in the Northern Region of England”Regional Studies2787–101.
65.
PhelpsN A, 1997Multinationals and European Integration (Jessica Kingsley, London).
66.
PhelpsN A, 2001, “The locally embedded multinational and institutional capture”Area32169–178.
67.
PhelpsN AFullerC, 2000, “Multinationals, intracorporate competition and regional development”Economic Geography76224–243.
68.
PorterM E, 1990The Competitive Advantage of Nations (Macmillan, London).
69.
PorterM E, 1998On Competition (Harvard Business Review Books, Boston, MA).
70.
RugmanAD'CruzJ R, 1992, “The double diamond model of international competitiveness: The Canadian experience”Management International Review33(2) 17–39.
71.
SachwaldF (Ed.), 1994European Integration and Competitiveness. Acquisitions and Alliances in Industry (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos).
72.
ScottA J, 1998, “The geographical foundation of industrial performance”, in The Dynamic Firm: The Role of Technology, Strategy, Organization and Regions Eds ChandlerA DJrSölvellÖHagströmP (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 384–401.
73.
ShaverM J, 1998, “Do foreign owned and US owned establishments exhibit the sane location pattern in US manufacturing industries?”Journal of International Business Studies29469–492.
74.
SmilorR WGibsonD V, 1991, “Accelerating technology transfer in R&D consortia”Research Technology Management January–February, 44–49.
75.
SmithH LKeebleDLawsonCMooreBWilkinsonF, 2001, “University–business interaction in the Oxford and Cambridge regions”Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie9288–99.
76.
SölvellÖZanderIPorterM E, 1991Advantage Sweden (Norstedts, Stockholm).
77.
StorperM, 1995, “The resurgence of regional economies, ten years later: The region as a nexus of untraded interdependencies”European Urban and Regional Studies2191–221.
78.
SuverkrupC, 1991Ziele und Erfolg internationalen technologischen Wissentransfers durch Unternehmensakquisitionen: Eine empirische Untersuchung am Beispiel deutsch–amerikkanisctrer und amerikanisch–deutcher Akquisitionerdoctoral dissertation, University of Kiel, Kiel.
79.
TaggartJ H, 1996, “Multinational manufacturing subsidiaries in Scotland: Strategic role and economic impact”International Business Review5447–468.
80.
TurokI, 1993, “Inward investment and local linkages: How deeply embedded is Silicon Glen'?”Regional Studies27401–417.
81.
UNCTAD, 1995World Investment Report. Transnational Corporations and Competitiveness (United Nations, New York).
82.
UNCTAD, 1999World Investment Report: Foreign Direct Investment and the Challenge of Development (United Nations, New York).
83.
UNCTAD, 2000World Investment Report 2000: Cross border Mergers and Acquisitions (United Nations, New York).
WattsH D, 1981The Branch Plant Economy: A Study of External Control (Longman, Harlow, Essex).
86.
WhiteR EPoynterT A, 1984, “Strategies for foreign-owned subsidiaries in Canada”Business Quarterly Summer, 59–69.
87.
WhitelyR (Ed.), 1992European Business Systems: Firms and Markets in Their National Contexts (Sage, London).
88.
YeungH W, 2000, “Organizing ‘the firm’ in industrial geography I: Networks, institutions and regional development”Progress in Human Geography24301–315.
89.
YoungSHoodNHamillJ, 1985, “Decision making in foreign owned multinational subsidiaries in the United Kingdom”, WP 35, International Labour Organisation, Geneva.
90.
YoungSHoodNDunlopS, 1988, “Global strategies, multinational subsidiary roles and economic impact in Scotland”Regional Studies22487–497.
91.
ZaneffiA, 2000, “Transnational firms and the changing organisation of innovative activities”Cambridge Journal of Economics24515–542.
