Internationalisation of R&D: trends, drivers and managerial challenges

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature on MNEs' international R&D activities with the purpose of assessing extent and trends, identifying central concepts, frameworks, typologies and debates, and assessing managerial implications. Reviewed statistics indicates that the fire growth in R&D internationalisation, well documented in the previous literature, may have come to an end. Furthermore, as a qualitative flip side to this apparent quantitative stagnation, managerial focus is shifting towards organisational consolidation of the existing complex international R&D structures. Based on discussions of prevailing motives for internationalising R&D, the paper further proposes that these motives can usefully be ascribed to six types: market-driven, production-driven, technology-driven, innovation-driven, cost-driven and policy-driven.