IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/mib/wpaper/154.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Firm’s intangible assets and multinational activity: full versus shared ownership

Author

Listed:
  • Valeria Gattai

Abstract

This paper analyses the choice of full versus shared ownership of the production affiliate made by Italian multinationals in Asia, based on an entirely new firm-level dataset, constructed by the author. The decision to internalise production, rather than relying on a local partner, is driven by the threat of Dissipation of Intangible Assets, both at a theoretical and an empirical level. In particular, we show that full ownership is more likely to emerge in Asia for Italian firms endowed with better technology and human capital, or belonging to high tech sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Valeria Gattai, 2009. "Firm’s intangible assets and multinational activity: full versus shared ownership," Working Papers 154, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2009.
    • Handle: RePEc:mib:wpaper:154
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://repec.dems.unimib.it/repec/pdf/mibwpaper154.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2009
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Erin Anderson & Hubert Gatignon, 1986. "Modes of Foreign Entry: A Transaction Cost Analysis and Propositions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 17(3), pages 1-26, September.
    2. Wilfred J. Ethier & James R. Markusen, 2021. "Multinational firms, technology diffusion and trade," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 7, pages 131-158, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, 2001. "The Firm as a Dedicated Hierarchy: A Theory of the Origins and Growth of Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(3), pages 805-851.
    4. Maskus, Keith E. & Penubarti, Mohan, 1995. "How trade-related are intellectual property rights?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3-4), pages 227-248, November.
    5. Mutinelli, Marco & Piscitello, Lucia, 1998. "The Influence of Firm's Size and International Experience on the Ownership Structure of Italian FDI in Manufacturing," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 43-56, August.
    6. Magnus Blomstrom & Mario Zejan, 1989. "Why Do Multinational Firms Seek Out Joint Ventures?," NBER Working Papers 2987, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Pol Herrmann & Deepak K Datta, 2002. "CEO Successor Characteristics and the Choice of Foreign Market Entry Mode: An Empirical Study," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(3), pages 551-569, September.
    8. Cassiman, Bruno & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 1999. "Importance of International Linkages for Local Know-How Flows: Some Econometric Evidence From Belgium," CEPR Discussion Papers 2337, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. James R. Markusen, 1995. "The Boundaries of Multinational Enterprises and the Theory of International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 169-189, Spring.
    10. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 2010. "An Economic Model of International Joint Venture Strategy," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Multinational Enterprise Revisited, chapter 6, pages 118-146, Palgrave Macmillan.
    11. Saggi, Kamal, 1999. "Foreign Direct Investment, Licensing, and Incentives for Innovation," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(4), pages 699-714, November.
    12. James R. Markusen, 2021. "Contracts, intellectual property rights, and multinational investment in developing countries," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 8, pages 159-174, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    13. Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, 1998. "Power in a Theory of the Firm," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(2), pages 387-432.
    14. Bruno Cassiman & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2002. "R&D Cooperation and Spillovers: Some Empirical Evidence from Belgium," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 1169-1184, September.
    15. Saggi, Kamal, 1996. "Entry into a Foreign Market: Foreign Direct Investment versus Licensing," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(1), pages 99-104, February.
    16. 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.
    17. Aaditya Mattoo & Marcelo Olarreaga & Kamal Saggi, 2023. "Mode of foreign entry, technology transfer, and FDI policy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Kamal Saggi (ed.), Technology Transfer, Foreign Direct Investment, and the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Global Economy, chapter 25, pages 567-583, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    18. Pol Antras & Elhanan Helpman, 2004. "Global Sourcing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(3), pages 552-580, June.
    19. M Krishna Erramilli, 1996. "Nationality and Subsidiary Ownership Patterns in Multinational Corporations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(2), pages 225-248, June.
    20. Fosfuri, Andrea, 2000. "Patent protection, imitation and the mode of technology transfer," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(7), pages 1129-1149, October.
    21. Yigang Pan, 2002. "Equity Ownership in International Joint Ventures: The Impact of Source Country Factors," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(2), pages 375-384, June.
    22. Chen, Haiyang & Hu, Michael Y., 2002. "An analysis of determinants of entry mode and its impact on performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 193-210, April.
    23. 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.
    24. Mattoo, Aaditya & Olarreaga, Marcelo & Saggi, Kamal, 2001. "Mode of foreign entry, technology transfer, and foreign direct investment policy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2737, The World Bank.
    25. Ramachandran, Vijaya, 1993. "Technology Transfer, Firm Ownership, and Investment in Human Capital," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 75(4), pages 664-670, November.
    26. David J. Teece, 2008. "Technology Transfer By Multinational Firms: The Resource Cost Of Transferring Technological Know-How," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Transfer And Licensing Of Know-How And Intellectual Property Understanding the Multinational Enterprise in the Modern World, chapter 1, pages 1-22, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    27. Gomes-Casseres, Benjamin, 1989. "Ownership structures of foreign subsidiaries : Theory and evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 1-25, January.
    28. Valeria Gattai, 2006. "From the Theory of the Firm to FDI and Internalisation: A Survey," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 65(2), pages 225-262, November.
    29. Kamal Saggi, 2002. "Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, and International Technology Transfer: A Survey," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 17(2), pages 191-235, September.
    30. Edwin Mansfield & Anthony Romeo, 1980. "Technology Transfer to Overseas Subsidiaries by U. S.-Based Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 95(4), pages 737-750.
    31. Keith D Brouthers, 2002. "Institutional, Cultural and Transaction Cost Influences on Entry Mode Choice and Performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(2), pages 203-221, June.
    32. repec:hrv:faseco:4784029 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, 1998. "The Governance of the New Enterprise," CRSP working papers 487, Center for Research in Security Prices, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
    34. Lee, Jeong-Yeon & Mansfield, Edwin, 1996. "Intellectual Property Protection and U.S. Foreign Direct Investment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(2), pages 181-186, May.
    35. Arora, Ashish & Fosfuri, Andrea & Gambardella, Alfonso, 2001. "Specialized technology suppliers, international spillovers and investment: evidence from the chemical industry," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 31-54, June.
    36. Klaus E. Meyer, 1998. "Direct Investment in Economies in Transition," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1413.
    37. Mutinelli, Marco & Piscitello, Lucia, 1998. "The entry mode choice of MNEs: an evolutionary approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 491-506, September.
    38. Magnus Blomstrom & Robert E. Lipsey & Lennart Ohlsson, 1989. "What Do Rich Countries Trade with Each Other? R&D and the Composition of U.S. and Swedish Trade," NBER Working Papers 3140, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    39. Jocelyn Glass, Amy & Saggi, Kamal, 2002. "Licensing versus direct investment: implications for economic growth," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 131-153, January.
    40. Sanjeev Agarwal & Sridhar N Ramaswami, 1992. "Choice of Foreign Market Entry Mode: Impact of Ownership, Location and Internationalization Factors," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(1), pages 1-27, March.
    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. Xiangjun Ma, 2017. "Do taxes influence the organizational boundaries of international firms? An incomplete-contracting model with empirical evidence," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(7), pages 801-828, October.

    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. Lorenzo Casaburi & Valeria Gattai, 2009. "Why FDI? An Empirical Assessment Based on Contractual Incompleteness and Dissipation of Intangible Assets," Working Papers 164, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2009.
    2. Valeria Gattai, 2008. "A Tale of Three Countries: Italian, Spanish and Swiss Manufacturing Operations in China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(8), pages 969-992, August.
    3. Valeria Gattai & Corrado Molteni, 2007. "Dissipation of Knowledge and the Boundaries of the Multinational Enterprise," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 143(1), pages 1-26, April.
    4. Beata S. Javorcik & Kamal Saggi, 2010. "Technological Asymmetry Among Foreign Investors And Mode Of Entry," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 48(2), pages 415-433, April.
    5. Valeria Gattai, 2006. "From the Theory of the Firm to FDI and Internalisation: A Survey," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 65(2), pages 225-262, November.
    6. Kukharskyy, Bohdan, 2020. "A tale of two property rights: Knowledge, physical assets, and multinational firm boundaries," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    7. Larimo, Jorma & Arslan, Ahmad, 2013. "Determinants of foreign direct investment ownership mode choice: Evidence from Nordic investments in Central and Eastern Europe," Journal of East European Management Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 18(2), pages 232-263.
    8. Zdolsek, Daniel & Kolar, Iztok, 2013. "Management disclosure practices for disaggregated (financial) information in Slovenian unlisted companies," Journal of East European Management Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 18(2), pages 232-263.
    9. Aaditya Mattoo & Marcelo Olarreaga & Kamal Saggi, 2023. "Mode of foreign entry, technology transfer, and FDI policy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Kamal Saggi (ed.), Technology Transfer, Foreign Direct Investment, and the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Global Economy, chapter 25, pages 567-583, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Canabal, Anne & White III, George O., 2008. "Entry mode research: Past and future," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 267-284, June.
    11. Morschett, Dirk & Schramm-Klein, Hanna & Swoboda, Bernhard, 2010. "Decades of research on market entry modes: What do we really know about external antecedents of entry mode choice?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 60-77, March.
    12. Ghebrihiwet, Nahom & Motchenkova, Evgenia, 2017. "Relationship between FDI, foreign ownership restrictions, and technology transfer in the resources sector: A derivation approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 320-326.
    13. Erdener Kaynak & Mehmet Demirbag & Ekrem Tatoglu, 2007. "Determinants of ownership-based entry mode choice of MNEs: Evidence from Mongolia," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 505-530, October.
    14. Elif Bascavusoglu & Maria Pluvia Zuniga, 2005. "The effects of intellectual property protection on international knowledge contracting," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques bla05009, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    15. Dischinger, Matthias & Riedel, Nadine, 2011. "Corporate taxes and the location of intangible assets within multinational firms," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 691-707, August.
    16. Karkinsky, Tom & Riedel, Nadine, 2012. "Corporate taxation and the choice of patent location within multinational firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 176-185.
    17. Montserrat Álvarez, 2003. "Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries Versus Joint Ventures: The Determinant Factors in the Catalan Multinational Manufacturing Case," Working Papers 2003/5, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    18. Marina Papanastassiou & Robert Pearce & Antonello Zanfei, 2020. "Changing perspectives on the internationalization of R&D and innovation by multinational enterprises: A review of the literature," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 623-664, June.
    19. Kedia, Ben L. & Bilgili, Tsvetomira V., 2015. "When history matters: The effect of historical ties on the relationship between institutional distance and shares acquired," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 921-934.
    20. Bontempi, Maria Elena & Prodi, Giorgio, 2009. "Entry strategies into China: The choice between Joint Ventures and Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises: An application to the Italian manufacturing sector," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 11-19, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intangible Assets; ownership; wholly-owned subsidiary; joint-venture; Asia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities
    • O5 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies

    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:mib:wpaper:154. 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: Matteo Pelagatti (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dpmibit.html .

    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.