IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v18y2009i5p494-508.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are there demonstration-related spillovers from FDI?: Evidence from Switzerland

Author

Listed:
  • Ben Hamida, Lamia
  • Gugler, Philippe

Abstract

This paper examines whether there are signs of demonstration-related spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI). It hypothesizes that the size and the extent of such benefits vary according to the level of the absorptive capacity of local firms. Using detailed firm data from Swiss manufacturing and services/construction, we find strong evidence for demonstration-related spillovers when (a) local firms are not far behind the technological frontier of the industry with a technological gap slightly greater than one, and (b) local firms demonstrate high investment in the absorptive capacity. The results are found to be more consistent in manufacturing than services/construction.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Hamida, Lamia & Gugler, Philippe, 2009. "Are there demonstration-related spillovers from FDI?: Evidence from Switzerland," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 494-508, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:18:y:2009:i:5:p:494-508
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593109000894
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kugler, Maurice, 2006. "Spillovers from foreign direct investment: Within or between industries?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 444-477, August.
    2. Sophia Dimelis, 2005. "Spillovers from foreign direct investment and firm growth: technological, financial and market structure effects," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 85-104.
    3. Jonathan E. Haskel & Sonia C. Pereira & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2007. "Does Inward Foreign Direct Investment Boost the Productivity of Domestic Firms?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 482-496, August.
    4. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Local Technological Capability and Productivity Spillovers from FDI in the Uruguayan Manufacturing Sector," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 11, pages 177-186, Palgrave Macmillan.
    5. Xiaowen Tian, 2007. "Accounting for sources of FDI technology spillovers: evidence from China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(1), pages 147-159, January.
    6. Fosfuri, Andrea & Motta, Massimo & Ronde, Thomas, 2001. "Foreign direct investment and spillovers through workers' mobility," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 205-222, February.
    7. Giuliana Battisti & Heinz Hollenstein & Paul Stoneman & Martin Woerter, 2007. "Inter And Intra Firm Diffusion Of Ict In The United Kingdom (Uk) And Switzerland (Ch) An Internationally Comparative Study Based On Firm-Level Data," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(8), pages 669-687.
    8. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 2022. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 6, pages 139-152, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Multinational Corporations and Spillovers," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 8, pages 101-133, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. Xiaming Liu & Pamela Siler & Chengqi Wang & Yingqi Wei, 2000. "Productivity Spillovers From Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence From UK Industry Level Panel Data," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(3), pages 407-425, September.
    11. Damijan, Joze P. & Knell, Mark & Majcen, Boris & Rojec, Matija, 2003. "The role of FDI, R&D accumulation and trade in transferring technology to transition countries: evidence from firm panel data for eight transition countries," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 189-204, June.
    12. Wilbur Chung & W Mitchell & B Yeung, 2003. "Foreign direct investment and host country productivity: the American automotive component industry in the 1980s," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 34(2), pages 199-218, March.
    13. Koizumi, Tetsunori & Kopecky, Kenneth J., 1977. "Economic growth, capital movements and the international transfer of technical knowledge," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 45-65, February.
    14. Wang, Jian-Ye & Blomstrom, Magnus, 1992. "Foreign investment and technology transfer : A simple model," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 137-155, January.
    15. repec:lic:licosd:8699 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Buckley, Peter J. & Wang, Chengqi & Clegg, Jeremy, 2007. "The impact of foreign ownership, local ownership and industry characteristics on spillover benefits from foreign direct investment in China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 142-158, April.
    17. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Technology, Market Characteristics and Spillovers," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 10, pages 160-176, Palgrave Macmillan.
    18. Francesca Sanna-Randaccio & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2007. "Multinational knowledge spillovers with decentralised R&D: a game-theoretic approach," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(1), pages 47-63, January.
    19. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko, 2002. "FDI and Human Capital: A Research Agenda," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 195, OECD Publishing.
    20. Narula, Rajneesh & Marin, Anabel, 2003. "FDI spillovers, absorptive capacities and human capital development: evidence from Argentina," Research Memorandum 018, Maastricht University, Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    21. Wolfgang Keller & Stephen R. Yeaple, 2009. "Multinational Enterprises, International Trade, and Productivity Growth: Firm-Level Evidence from the United States," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(4), pages 821-831, November.
    22. Barbosa, Natália & Eiriz, Vasco, 2009. "Linking corporate productivity to foreign direct investment: An empirical assessment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 1-13, February.
    23. John Cantwell (ed.), 1999. "Foreign Direct Investment and Technological Change," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, volume 0, number 1590.
    24. Silverberg, Gerald & Verspagen, Bart, 1994. "Collective Learning, Innovation and Growth in a Boundedly Rational, Evolutionary World," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 207-226, September.
    25. Tamotsu Nakamura, 2002. "Foreign Investment, Technology Transfer, and the Technology Gap: A Note," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 39-47, February.
    26. Karpaty, Patrik & Lundberg, Lars, 2004. "Foreign Direct Investment and Productivity Spillovers in Swedish Manufacturing," Working Paper Series 194, Trade Union Institute for Economic Research.
    27. Kolasa Marcin, 2008. "How does FDI inflow affect productivity of domestic firms? The role of horizontal and vertical spillovers, absorptive capacity and competition," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 155-173.
    28. Sjoholm, Fredrik, 1999. "Productivity Growth in Indonesia: The Role of Regional Characteristics and Direct Foreign Investment," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(3), pages 559-584, April.
    29. Lawrence Kaufmann, 1997. "A Model of Spillovers Through Labor Recruitment," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 13-33.
    30. repec:bla:econom:v:41:y:1974:i:162:p:176-93 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Anabel Marin & Martin Bell, 2006. "Technology spillovers from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): the active role of MNC subsidiaries in Argentina in the 1990s," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 678-697.
    32. Sourafel Girma, 2005. "Absorptive Capacity and Productivity Spillovers from FDI: A Threshold Regression Analysis," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 67(3), pages 281-306, June.
    33. Dimelis, S. & Louri-Dendrinou, Eleni, 2001. "Foreign Direct Investment and Efficiency Benefits: A Conditional Quantile Analysis," CEPR Discussion Papers 2868, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    34. Holger Görg & Eric Strobl, 2016. "Multinational Companies And Productivity Spillovers: A Meta-Analysis," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 8, pages 145-161, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    35. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Productivity Spillovers from Competition between Local Firms and Foreign Affiliates," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 12, pages 187-202, Palgrave Macmillan.
    36. Amy Jocelyn Glass & Kamal Saggi, 2002. "Multinational Firms and Technology Transfer," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 104(4), pages 495-513, December.
    37. Beata Smarzynska Javorcik, 2004. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms? In Search of Spillovers Through Backward Linkages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 605-627, June.
    38. Ashoka Mody, 1989. "Strategies for Developing Information Industries," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 1(1), pages 38-59, June.
    39. Rajneesh Narula & John Dunning, 2000. "Industrial Development, Globalization and Multinational Enterprises: New Realities for Developing Countries," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 141-167.
    40. Ronald Findlay, 1978. "Relative Backwardness, Direct Foreign Investment, and the Transfer of Technology: A Simple Dynamic Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 92(1), pages 1-16.
    41. Salvador Barrios, "undated". "Foreign Direct Investment Productivity Spillovers. Evidence From the Spanish Experience," Studies on the Spanish Economy 86, FEDEA.
    42. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    43. Richard R. Nelson, 1982. "The Role of Knowledge in R&D Efficiency," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(3), pages 453-470.
    44. Haddad, Mona & Harrison, Ann, 1993. "Are there positive spillovers from direct foreign investment? : Evidence from panel data for Morocco," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 51-74, October.
    45. Ahmed, Shaghil & Ickes, Barry W. & Ping Wang & Byung Sam Yoo, 1993. "International Business Cycles," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(3), pages 335-359, June.
    46. repec:bla:jecsur:v:12:y:1998:i:3:p:247-77 is not listed on IDEAS
    47. Charles Cooper & Raphael Kaplinsky, 1989. "Technology and Development in the Third Industrial Revolution," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 1(1), pages 1-3, June.
    48. Giroud, Axèle, 2007. "MNEs vertical linkages: The experience of Vietnam after Malaysia," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 159-176, April.
    49. Kinoshita, Yuko, 2001. "R&D and Technology Spillovers through FDI: Innovation and Absorptive Capacity," CEPR Discussion Papers 2775, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    50. Frances Ruane & Ali Uğur, 2005. "Foreign direct investment and productivity spillovers in Irish manufacturing industry: evidence from plant level panel data," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 53-66.
    51. Peter J Buckley & Jeremy Clegg & Chengqi Wang, 2002. "The Impact of Inward FDI on the Performance of Chinese Manufacturing Firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(4), pages 637-655, December.
    52. Sinani, Evis & Meyer, Klaus E., 2004. "Spillovers of technology transfer from FDI: the case of Estonia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 445-466, September.
    53. Das, Sanghamitra, 1987. "Externalities, and technology transfer through multinational corporations A theoretical analysis," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1-2), pages 171-182, February.
    54. Salvador Barrios & Eric Strobl, 2002. "Foreign direct investment and productivity spillovers: Evidence from the Spanish experience," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 138(3), pages 459-481, September.
    55. Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan & Ruben Tansini, 2001. "Trade regimes and spillover effects of FDI: Evidence from Uruguay," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 137(1), pages 124-149, March.
    56. Sanjaya Lall & Shujiro Urata (ed.), 2003. "Competitiveness, FDI and Technological Activity in East Asia," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2837.
    57. Mayes,David G. (ed.), 1996. "Sources of Productivity Growth," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521554374, January.
    58. Jasjit Singh, 2007. "Asymmetry of knowledge spillovers between MNCs and host country firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(5), pages 764-786, September.
    59. Y Wei & X Liu, 2006. "Productivity spillovers from R&D, exports and FDI in China's manufacturing sector," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(4), pages 544-557, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hamida, Lamia Ben, 2013. "Are there regional spillovers from FDI in the Swiss manufacturing industry?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 754-769.
    2. Neil Foster-McGregor, 2012. "Innovation and Technology Transfer across Countries," wiiw Research Reports 380, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    3. Klaus E Meyer & Evis Sinani, 2009. "When and where does foreign direct investment generate positive spillovers? A meta-analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(7), pages 1075-1094, September.
    4. Crespo, Nuno & Fontoura, Maria Paula, 2007. "Determinant Factors of FDI Spillovers - What Do We Really Know?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 410-425, March.
    5. Holger Görg & David Greenaway, 2016. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 9, pages 163-189, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Nuno Crespo & Maria Paula Fontoura & Isabel Proença, 2009. "FDI spillovers at regional level: Evidence from Portugal," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(3), pages 591-607, August.
    7. Tomáš Havránek & Zuzana Iršová, 2010. "Meta-Analysis of Intra-Industry FDI Spillovers: Updated Evidence," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 60(2), pages 151-174, May.
    8. Fernando Ubeda & Francisco Pérez-Hernández, 2017. "Absorptive Capacity and Geographical Distance Two Mediating Factors of FDI Spillovers: a Threshold Regression Analysis for Spanish Firms," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 1-28, March.
    9. Greenaway, David & Görg, Holger, 2002. "Much Ado About Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Investment?," CEPR Discussion Papers 3485, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Jitao Tang & Rosanne Altshuler, 2015. "The Spillover Effects Of Outward Foreign Direct Investment On Home Countries: Evidence From The United States," Departmental Working Papers 201501, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
    11. Deborah Winkler, 2018. "Potential and Actual FDI Spillovers in Global Value Chains The Role of Foreign Investor Characteristics, Absorptive Capacity and Transmission Channels," Journal of Banking and Financial Economics, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 2(10), pages 5-44, December.
    12. Yi Zhang, 2019. "Institutions, Firm Characteristics, and FDI Spillovers," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(5), pages 1109-1136, April.
    13. Nuno CRESPO & Isabel PROENÇA & Maria Paula FONTOURA, 2012. "The Spatial Dimension in FDI Spillovers: Evidence at the Regional Level from Portugal," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 12(1), pages 115-130.
    14. Farole, Thomas & Winkler, Deborah, 2012. "Foreign firm characteristics, absorptive capacity and the institutional framework : the role of mediating factors for FDI spillovers in low- and middle-income countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6265, The World Bank.
    15. Lamia Ben Hamida, 2000. "Multinational Firms, Spillovers, and Productivity Growth: An Evolutionary Model," Regional and Urban Modeling 283600009, EcoMod.
    16. J. Rosell-Martinez & P. Sanchez-Sellero, 2011. "Foreign direct investment and technical progress in Spanish manufacturing," Post-Print hal-00693830, HAL.
    17. Sinani, Evis & Meyer, Klaus E., 2004. "Spillovers of technology transfer from FDI: the case of Estonia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 445-466, September.
    18. Della Temenggung, 2007. "Productivity Spillovers from Foreign Direct Investment: Indonesian Manufacturing Industry’s Experience 1975-2000," DEGIT Conference Papers c012_048, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    19. Daniel Chudnovsky & Andres Lopez & Gaston Rossi, 2008. "Foreign Direct Investment Spillovers and the Absorptive Capabilities of Domestic Firms in the Argentine Manufacturing Sector (1992-2001)," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(5), pages 645-677.
    20. Santos, Eleonora, 2017. "Externalities from FDI on domestic firms’ Productivity: A Literature Review for Developed Countries," MPRA Paper 88958, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:18:y:2009:i:5:p:494-508. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.