IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jbemgt/v14y2013i3p535-557.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

International spillovers, knowledge acquisition and transfer among Japanese fi rms in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Qingyan Shang
  • Jessie P. H. Poon

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate (i) the relationship between international spillovers and knowledge acquisition, and, (ii) intra-firm subsidiary-to-parent transfer of technology among Japanese firms in the United States. Using a survey of 185 firms, probit regressions reveal that R&D personnel and market power significantly influence the acquisition of knowledge associated with basic and applied science and product development. Tacit knowledge that resides in customers, and skilled personnel are effective sources for exploitation of international knowledge spillovers. Participation in seminars and conferences also enhances the acquisition of applied science. Firms that rely on codified sources are unlikely to acquire any knowledge. This research also confirms other authors’ findings that subsidiary autonomy facilitates knowledge acquisition. In addition, knowledge in product development is most likely to lead to vertical intra-firm transfers while applied scientific research only results in the transfer of R&D capability. Scientific team visits from the US to Japan support subsidiaries’ transfer of R&D capability but teams sent from Japan to the US adversely affect transfers. Overall, our results suggest international spillovers are predominantly associated with the acquisition of tacit knowledge, and intra-firm transfers are most effective in the context of knowledge acquired in applied research and product development.

Suggested Citation

  • Qingyan Shang & Jessie P. H. Poon, 2013. "International spillovers, knowledge acquisition and transfer among Japanese fi rms in the United States," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 535-557, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:jbemgt:v:14:y:2013:i:3:p:535-557
    DOI: 10.3846/16111699.2012.658853
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.3846/16111699.2012.658853
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.3846/16111699.2012.658853?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    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. Blomström, Magnus & Kokko, Ari, 2003. "The Economics of Foreign Direct Investment Incentives," EIJS Working Paper Series 168, Stockholm School of Economics, The European Institute of Japanese Studies.
    2. Adam Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg, 1999. "International Knowledge Flows: Evidence From Patent Citations," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1-2), pages 105-136.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chen Wang & Lincoln C. Wood & Hamzah Abdul-Rahman & Han Biao Ng, 2017. "Triggering the internationalization of Malaysian quantity surveying firms," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 11(3), pages 631-663, September.

    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. Wei Jin, 2012. "Can China Harness Globalization to Reap Carbon Savings? Modeling International Technology Diffusion in a Multi-region Framework," CAMA Working Papers 2012-52, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    2. Wei Jin, 2012. "International Knowledge Spillover and Technology Externality: Why Multilateral R&D Coordination Matters for Global Climate Governance," CAMA Working Papers 2012-53, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    3. Uwe Cantner & Martin Kalthaus & Matthias Menter & Pierre Mohnen, 2023. "Global knowledge flows: characteristics, determinants, and impacts," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 32(5), pages 1063-1076.
    4. Josh Lerner, 2002. "Where Does State Street Lead? A First Look at Finance Patents, 1971 to 2000," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(2), pages 901-930, April.
    5. Sanjaya Malik, 2015. "Conditional technology spillovers from foreign direct investment: evidence from Indian manufacturing industries," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 183-198, April.
    6. Schankerman, Mark & Lanjouw, Jean, 2001. "Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights," CEPR Discussion Papers 3093, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. -, 2009. "Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2008," La Inversión Extranjera Directa en América Latina y el Caribe, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 1139 edited by Eclac, May.
    8. Iain M. Cockburn & Megan J. MacGarvie, 2011. "Entry and Patenting in the Software Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(5), pages 915-933, May.
    9. Maria Cipollina & Giorgia Giovannetti & Filomena Pietrovito & Alberto F. Pozzolo, 2012. "FDI and Growth: What Cross-country Industry Data Say," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(11), pages 1599-1629, November.
    10. Dietmar Harhoff & Elisabeth Mueller & John Van Reenen, 2014. "What are the Channels for Technology Sourcing? Panel Data Evidence from German Companies," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 204-224, March.
    11. Bretschger, Lucas & Lechthaler, Filippo & Rausch, Sebastian & Zhang, Lin, 2017. "Knowledge diffusion, endogenous growth, and the costs of global climate policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 47-72.
    12. Hyuk-Soo Kwon & Jihong Lee & Sokbae Lee & Ryungha Oh, 2022. "Knowledge spillovers and patent citations: trends in geographic localization, 1976–2015," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 123-147, April.
    13. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    14. Wolfgang Keller, 2002. "Geographic Localization of International Technology Diffusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 120-142, March.
    15. William R Kerr, 2018. "Heterogeneous Technology Diffusion and Ricardian Trade Patterns," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 32(1), pages 163-182.
    16. repec:rdg:wpaper:em-dp2007-43 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. T. Gries & R. Grundmann & I. Palnau & M. Redlin, 2017. "Innovations, growth and participation in advanced economies - a review of major concepts and findings," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 293-351, April.
    18. Tatiana Kiseleva & Ali Palali & Bas Straathof, 2016. "Do national borders slow down knowledge diffusion within new technological fields? The case of big data in Europe," CPB Discussion Paper 330, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    19. Aaltonen, Aleksi Ville & Seiler, Stephan, 2014. "Quantifying spillovers in open source content production: evidence from Wikipedia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60284, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Emanuele Bacchiocchi & Fabio Montobbio, 2010. "International Knowledge Diffusion and Home‐bias Effect: Do USPTO and EPO Patent Citations Tell the Same Story?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(3), pages 441-470, September.
    21. Federico Caviggioli & Alessandra Colombelli & Antonio De Marco & Giuseppe Scellato & Elisa Ughetto, 2023. "Co-evolution patterns of university patenting and technological specialization in European regions," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 216-239, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:jbemgt:v:14:y:2013:i:3:p:535-557. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/TBEM20 .

    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.