Economic globalisation and the subsequent growth of global and alliance capitalism have fundamentally affected the way in which MNC activities are undertaken and organised. The various contributions to this special issue have evaluated the eclectic paradigm in the global economy, and its...

This paper argues that the East Asian success stories do not owe their growth toliberalised markets and laissez faire industrial policies, but to industrial developmentstrategies that share several similarities to the import-substitution industrialisation (ISI)approach. There are, needless to...

We ask why firms from certain countries show a higher propensity to centralise their R&D activities athome than firms from other countries, using the example of Norway. We highlight that it is the interplaybetween the industrial structure and political and economic orientation of the home...

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This paper evaluates some of the technological and economic factors that underlie the choice between in-house R&D, R&D alliances and outsourcing. We recount the reasons for the growth in non-internal activities, and explain why these are not as prevalent for R&D as other value-adding activities,...

Our primary objective here is to suggest when, and under what circumstances is it advantageous for firms to engage in the use of either in-house R&D activity, R&D outsourcing or R&D alliances. The extent to which a firm will use either of these modes is very much dependent on the technology and...

This paper focuses on SMEs for whom ICTs are a central, core technology. I argue that globalisation has profoundly affected the way in which SMEs organise their R&D activities. On the one hand, SMEs have always sought to specialise in niches, given their limited resources. As such, their role as...

This paper first develops an explanation for the increasing popularity of strategic technology alliances, both globally, and by EU firms. It then evaluates, using data over the period 1980-1994, how private, non-subsidised cooperative agreements in R&D by EU firms has evolved, paying particular...

This paper seeks to broaden our understanding of the concept underlying absorptive capacity at the macro–level, paying particular attention to the growth and development perspectives. We provide definitions of absorptive and technological capacity, external technology flows, productivity...