AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings - Academy of International ...

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effects among scale and scope attributes of patent portfolio. The results show that patent scale generates
stronger direct effects than patent scope; contrastingly patent scope requires mediators to impact performance,
but rarely demonstrates any effect in the patenting-sample. In addition, our findings on stronger performance
effects of the full-sample than the patenting-sample imply that patenting may not sustain performance impacts
among active innovators. Such a contingent view of innovation strategy may contribute to specify the applicable
conditions for a firm to enhance its competitive advantage via strategic fitness between multiple patenting
strategies and performance targets. (For more information, please contact: Sonya H. Wen, Tamkang University,
Taiwan: sonya.wen@gmail.com)
Breeding the Competition How Innovation Performance Varies across Partnerships between Foreign and Local
Firms in China
Simon C. Collinson, Reading University
Kamel Mellahi, University of Warwick
Cherif Guermat, University of the West of England
Our central premise in this paper is that the level of knowledge transfer and resulting innovation performance in
partnerships between MNCs and foreign subsidiaries are profoundly linked to the type of the partnership. We
compare changes in innovation outputs from competitive and cooperative partnerships established by foreign
multinational firms in China. Our strongest finding is that output innovation, measured by both the quality and
reliability of products and the range of products and services produced by the partnership, is positively and
significantly related to competitive partnerships. Some kinds of process innovation are also improved by
competitive partnerships. Cooperative partnerships by way of contrast are negatively associated with both
product and process innovation. Moreover, we find a strong link between long-term partnerships and superior
performance in process innovation outputs. This suggests that particular kinds of resource relatedness and
"combinational potential" underlie particular kinds of innovative outputs in international partnerships. (For more
information, please contact: Simon C. Collinson, Reading University, United Kingdom:
s.collinson@reading.ac.uk)
How Does a Child Teach Herself and Her Parent Subsidiary Technology Acquisition from Multiple Sources and
MNC Performance
Akie Iriyama, State University of New York at Buffalo
Sean Tsuhsiang Hsu, University of Pittsburgh
This study seeks to address two related gaps in the literature on the subsidiary's role in the development of
MNC technological competence. First, whereas previous studies suggest subsidiary technology acquisitions from
different sources influence subsidiary technology performance, few empirical efforts are made to test this in an
integrated empirical framework. Second, there are no studies to examine whether a subsidiary's technology
acquisitions from multiple sources contribute to the technology performance of its home country headquarters.
Using the unique survey data compiled by Taiwan's government, we construct a panel dataset of 1,971
Taiwanese MNCs during the period between 2003 and 2006, and we examine the impact of nine technology
acquisition sources of MNC subsidiaries on technology performance of the subsidiaries and their headquarters.
We reveal that Taiwanese MNC subsidiaries mainly rely on three out of the nine technology sources, i.e. (1)
headquarters, (2) its own local R&D activity, and (3) inter-firm collaboration. Regressions suggest that all of the
three channels have a positive impact on subsidiary technology performance. We also find that the effects are
contingent on subsidiary governance structure and experience in the host country. Finally, we find that
subsidiary technology acquisition from its local R&D activity contributes to its headquarters technology
performance. Overall, the results suggest that subsidiary technology acquisitions contribute to MNC technology
performance for limited types of sources and under limited conditions. The study complements the literature of
MNC competence creation by showing comprehensive evidence of the role of subsidiaries in technology
acquisitions. It also has an implication for managers that they should consider the important role of local R&D
AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings
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