PLoS ONE (Jan 2021)

RD internationalization, domestic technology alliance, and innovation in emerging market.

  • Jingjing Li,
  • Gang Liu,
  • Zihan Ma

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252669
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 6
p. e0252669

Abstract

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Although R&D internationalization plays an important role in enterprises' globalization, few studies explore the mechanism of R&D internationalization and emerging market companies' innovation, or the relationship between R&D internationalization, domestic technology alliances and absorptive capacity. How does the R&D internationalization of emerging market enterprises affect the innovation of those enterprises? Under fierce market competition, do absorption capacity and domestic technology alliances have a significant impact on enterprise innovation? From the perspective of the knowledge-based view, this paper studies 185 enterprises undergoing R&D internationalization in China from 2012 to 2017, using high-dimensional Poisson fixed effects model, we use instrumental (HDFE IV) estimation to explain the impact of R&D internationalization on the innovation of the parent company and the mechanism behind it. The study finds that R&D internationalization positively promotes the parent company's innovation, and domestic technology alliances and absorptive capacity play a partial mediator role in R&D internationalization. In the face of fierce market competition, domestic technical alliances play a significant role in promoting enterprise innovation, while absorptive capacity plays a negative role in promoting enterprise innovation with the moderating effect of market competition.