Captive R&D Offshoring: The Case of Newly Established Foreign-Invested R&D Units in Emerging Markets

This PhD thesis includes four journal papers and one book chapter, which investigate how newly established foreign-invested R&D units in emerging markets become able to carry out their mandates. In particular, the author investigates how the employees of such units acquire R&D home base knowledge, how local talent is made use of, and how local sources of knowledge are engaged. The theoretical framework is primarily based on knowledge management theory, but networking theory is also made use of. The study is a case study, and empirical data have been collected from four MNCs originating from Scandinavia and now operating in Scandinavia, China, and India. The thesis questions an assumption in the Uppsala model, which implies that different business activities can be internationalized in the same way. The findings point to the importance of socialization across the R&D home base and newly established R&D units in order for employees in such units to acquire tacit knowledge in particular. However, documented R&D knowledge at the R&D home base can also nurture the ability of newly established foreign-invested R&D units in emerging markets to carry out their mandates. The findings suggest that the local talent in China and India is particularly suited to improving existing products and processes. However, due to a lack of social initiative, it is more difficult to use this talent to identify and solve entirely new problems. The thesis also investigates how local sources of knowledge are engaged. In particular, interactions with local manufacturing activities and local universities are investigated.