Abstract
The role of the subsidiaries, in the decision making process of international technology alliance operation and its execution, has increasingly become a critical factor for the success of the operation itself. The objective of this paper is to explore the factors that can influence the role of the subsidiary on the effectiveness of international technology cooperation. The work focused on three different international technology alliances in the Fiat Group Automobiles, representing different directions in the process and information flows within the parent-subsidiary relationship. The case study method was applied to investigate these three selected alliances. Interviews were conducted with top management of FIAT in Brazil and in Italy. The findings have been summarized into four main “lessons” and they are discussed vis-a-vis the extant literature. From the theoretical viewpoint, these factors highlight further potential contributions to the current streams of research on MNCs and their process of technological innovation.
Highlights
In the last 30 years, inter-firm collaborations for technological innovation have proven to be a powerful solution to maintain a company‘s competitiveness in the global context. This is especially evident in the case of large Multinational Companies (MNCs), who have invested resources to set up and implement many different types of strategic technology partnerships
The present paper was inspired by the literature stating that, in the case of the MNCs the generation, deployment, acquisition and diffusion of knowledge may derive from the external as well as from the internal environment (Gupta & Govindarajan, 2000; Minbaeva, Pedersen, Bjorkman, Fey, & Park, 2003)
The role of the subsidiaries in the whole process of international technology cooperation can influence the effectiveness of the collaboration itself
Summary
In the last 30 years, inter-firm collaborations for technological innovation have proven to be a powerful solution to maintain a company‘s competitiveness in the global context This is especially evident in the case of large Multinational Companies (MNCs), who have invested resources to set up and implement many different types of strategic technology partnerships. The strategy permits the globalization of the markets, sought by many MNCs, as a result of having access and sharing the most consistent technological competences with the targeted markets This cooperation can occur, both intra-firm, by leveraging the available competences within the overall MNC network, as well as interfirm, by involving horizontal partners (competitors and distributors) and vertical ones (links of the industry‘s supply chain). The role of the subsidiaries in the whole process of international technology cooperation can influence the effectiveness of the collaboration itself
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