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Foreign subsidiaries’ internal and external R&D cooperation in South Korea: Explanatory factors and interaction

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Abstract

This article analyses R&D cooperation strategies by foreign subsidiaries of MNEs located in South Korea. It differentiates between foreign subsidiaries with no R&D cooperation and those which favour internal or external R&D cooperation. Providing country-specific discussion in the context of South Korea, this enables comparison and contrast of the importance of innovation networks developed by MNE subsidiaries. Using various models, the results show that foreign subsidiaries in South Korea adopt complementary internal and external R&D cooperation strategies. Knowledge sourcing is found to be a key determinant of R&D cooperation, and government policies act as a strong incentive for inter-firm collaboration.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Special Issue Editors for their suggestions, support and professional support through the review process, as well as the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. Drafts of this article were presented at conferences in the Academy of Economic Studies, Romania, and in the National University of Singapore. The authors also wish to thank the Science and Technology Policy Institute, South Korea, for allowing access to the KIS data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, Booth Street East, Manchester, M15 6PB, UK

    Axèle Giroud & Mo Yamin

  2. The York Management School, The University of York, Freboys Lane, Heslington, York, YO10 5GD, UK

    Yoo Jung Ha

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  1. Axèle Giroud
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Appendix

Appendix

Table A1

Table A1 Knowledge sourcing
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Table A2

Table A2 Subsidiary’s heterogeneity: Type of technological activity
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Table A3

Table A3 Types of innovation policy
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Table A4

Table A4 Descriptive statistics
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Table A5

Table A5 Correlation matrix
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Giroud, A., Jung Ha, Y. & Yamin, M. Foreign subsidiaries’ internal and external R&D cooperation in South Korea: Explanatory factors and interaction. Asian Bus Manage 13, 227–256 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/abm.2014.8

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