The Limitations of International Relations Regarding MNCs and the Digital Economy: Evidence from Brazil

ABSTRACT

Multinationals (MNCs) have been considered a relevant research topic for International Relations since the emergence of the field of International Political Economy in the 1970s. Nowadays, MNCs are undergoing deep changes in their business models and global strategies due to the digital economy. This has considerable implications for the international system. For instance, the rise of information and communication technology (ICT) MNCs to the top of market value lists globally. Nonetheless, IR scholars have been slow in grasping the importance of ICT MNCs and the digital economy. In this paper, I justify this statement by evaluating the inclusion of MNCs and ICT MNCs in Brazilian IR scholarship. The method used is a bibliometric mapping of the scientific production of Brazilian IR scholars, supported by a systematic literature review. The results showcase that, in spite of the impact of digitalization on Brazil's economy and politics, IR scholars have conducted few studies on MNCs and practically no studies on ICT MNCs. This case illustrates the emergence of new dynamics in global value chains triggered by digitalization. It also illustrates the challenges for developing countries such as Brazil to engage in global production networks within the highly competitive ICT sector.     

跨国公司研发投资的前向关联模式

经济全球化背景下,跨国公司为保持市场竞争优势和技术领先地位在全球范围内进行R&D投资,这为东道国通过产业关联获取跨国公司技术资源以提高本国产业技术水平创造了机会。从前向关联模式角度入手,研究了跨国公司与东道国本土企业通过R&D投资建立产业关联的动因、关联溢出效应及技术溢出路径,揭示了跨国公司R&D投资与东道国企业建立前向关联的内在机理,可为我国政府有效利用跨国公司R&D投资提升本土企业技术水平提供相应的管理启示和政策建议。     

我国信息通讯技术领域专利战略分析

对我国信息通讯技术（ICT）领域在1985-2006年期间的发明专利申请情况进行了分析,重点研究了在华知名跨国公司与国内企业在15个最主要的ICT子领域的发明专利申请情况,计算了主要ICT子领域对各企业的技术重要性、各企业在ICT子领域及整体领域的技术竞争指数、各企业在ICT子领域的技术比较优势指数等。研究结果揭示了我国ICT的重要技术创新和竞争子领域;在我国整体ICT领域的竞争指数最大的公司依次为三星、华为、松下等,而国内其他公司的竞争指数都较低;在各ICT子领域最具技术竞争力的公司几乎都是发明专利申请量最多的公司。研究进一步表明,并非所有公司都能在对其最具技术重要性的领域保持技术竞争优势。本土ICT企业要缩小与跨国公司的技术差距,必须重视对重要技术领域的选择并加大创新投入,实施专利战略,以保持自身在这些领域的相对技术比较优势。     

The new geography of corporate research in Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

In the new ICT-based paradigm MNCs have increasingly locationally dispersed competence-creating activities. Using patent data granted in the US to the largest European-owned electronic corporations and all the largest companies in other industries for their ICT research in the European regions, this paper investigates the regional dispersion of such research. We find that co-specialised electronic companies do not tend to develop related R&D in the same regional location, but non-electronic firms undertake related ICT development in a common centre of excellence. Thus, intra-industry competition encourages the geographical separation of co-specialised research, while inter-industry cooperation entails the co-location of related research.     

The Role of Multinational Corporations and National States in the Globalization of Innovatory Capacity: The European Perspective

The recent ability of multinational corporations (MNCs) to develop integrated technological networks, increasingly motivated within Europe by the further progress of economic integration, is argued to affect and be affected by national technological competitiveness. This paper examines the precise geographical dispersion of technological activity in Europe by the largest MNCs, and the potential impact of those MNCs on the level and structure of the technological capacity of European home and host countries, using data on patents granted to the world largest firms in the US. Since the late 1980s, the majority of the technological activity conducted in foreign-owned research facilities located in Europe, has taken place in affiliates of European-owned companies. This paper examines whether the much higher degree of internationalization of corporate technology in European MNCs than in their US or Japanese counterparts is attributable to cross-border activity within Europe, or extends to European-owned research facilities in the US and Japan. While intra-European activity matters more for Dutch, Belgian and Swedish MNCs (and in the electrical equipment and computing industries), whose strategies are substantially based on corporate European integration, investments in the US are of greater significance for French and Swiss companies, and of the greatest importance for German and British firms (and in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries), representing a more widely 'globalized' technological strategy.     

The Role of Multinational Corporations and National States in the Globalization of Innovatory Capacity: The European Perspective

The recent ability of multinational corporations (MNCs) to develop integrated technological networks, increasingly motivated within Europe by the further progress of economic integration, is argued to affect and be affected by national technological competitiveness. This paper examines the precise geographical dispersion of technological activity in Europe by the largest MNCs, and the potential impact of those MNCs on the level and structure of the technological capacity of European home and host countries, using data on patents granted to the world largest firms in the US. Since the late 1980s, the majority of the technological activity conducted in foreign-owned research facilities located in Europe, has taken place in affiliates of European-owned companies. This paper examines whether the much higher degree of internationalization of corporate technology in European MNCs than in their US or Japanese counterparts is attributable to cross-border activity within Europe, or extends to European-owned research facilities in the US and Japan. While intra-European activity matters more for Dutch, Belgian and Swedish MNCs (and in the electrical equipment and computing industries), whose strategies are substantially based on corporate European integration, investments in the US are of greater significance for French and Swiss companies, and of the greatest importance for German and British firms (and in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries), representing a more widely ‘globalized’ technological strategy.     

Exchange rate and Chinese outward FDI

Did the exchange rate (ER) regime change that was announced by the Chinese government in 2005 lead to an increased sensitivity of Chinese multinational companies (MNCs) to ER fluctuations? To answer this question our article considers the effect of ER level, volatility and expectation on the Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) activities in 119 countries for a period of 2003–2013. We find striking evidence that Chinese Renminbi appreciation has a negative impact on Chinese outward FDI flows, and both higher ER volatility and expected depreciation encourage Chinese outward FDI flows. We introduce two complementary effects that explain these findings: repatriation effect and mercantilist effect. In view of the recent debate about the growing importance of Chinese Renminbi in the international transactions we believe that our research results shed light on the possible impact of ER policies on Chinese MNCs behaviour and global FDI distribution.     

Social capital, ICT use and company performance: Findings from the Medicon Valley Biotech Cluster

This study explores how some uses of ICTs, as well as having social capital and other means of access to knowledge resources, are related to company performance in a knowledge-intensive business cluster. Data were collected through a survey of companies in the Medicon Valley biotech region located in Denmark and Southern Sweden. Responding companies included established producers of biotechnology-related products as well as small biotechnology start-up firms emphasizing research and development. The results suggest that when ICT use was aimed at accessing and enhancing human and intellectual capital, such as use of online databases for recruitment, intranets to enhance employee access to information and education, and collaborative tools to connect with off-premise researchers, companies reported better performance outcomes. Social capital in the form of connections to people who can provide access to information and opportunity predicted company performance, particularly for small start-up companies. The pattern of results complements prior work that establishes the importance of social capital in regional business clusters by demonstrating how certain ICT uses complement personal relationships to enhance the likelihood of success among companies in the region.     

Does foreign technology transfer spur domestic innovation? Evidence from the high-speed rail sector in China

This paper investigates the introduction of high-speed railway (HSR) technology into China to study the local impacts of foreign technology transfer. The large-scale technology transfer project, covering specific technological categories and directly benefiting railway-related firms in various cities, enables us to describe how foreign technology is digested and spurs follow-up innovation in firms apart from directly receiving ones. We find that technology transfer generates significant localized spillovers to nearby firms not only in terms of more patents, but also as higher productivity and revenue growth. Moreover, technological similarity, rather than input-output linkages, plays a dominant role in explaining the knowledge spillover both at the firm level and the aggregate level, which indicates the importance of absorptive capacity in digesting foreign technologies. Overall, our paper sheds new light on the innovation policy of developing countries as well as the global business strategy of multinational corporations (MNCs).     

Identifying peers in international tax competition

Multinational companies (MNCs) have historically used corporate subsidiaries to isolate income earned in lower-taxed jurisdictions from tax in a higher-rate home country. This planning technique has been long accepted as a strategy to lower the MNC’s effective tax rate and maintain shareholder value. A recently study, however, demonstrates that this is an inefficient, and possibly inappropriate, strategy. This article conducts a comprehensive empirical benchmarking analysis by applying cluster analysis to empirically identify peer groups of MNCs operating in the pharmaceutical industry. We find that most firms consistently fall into the same cluster, providing evidence that income shifting can be benchmarked by industry sector. We also find special cases where firms should be excluded from the benchmark.     

Does the digital divide across countries lead to convergence? New international evidence

We examine the convergence of information and communication technologies (ICT) among 47 developed and emerging countries using annual data from 2000 to 2012. We construct an ICT development index using a principal component analysis. The results, based on a dynamic panel data model, reveal a divergence in ICT development. This study identifies two factors that drive a country's digitalization divergence level: the growth of per capita income and the ratio of urban to rural population. In addition, ICT divergence is higher in emerging countries than in developed countries.     

Evaluating the effects of investment in information and communication technology

Most of the studies on the consequences of information and communication technology (ICT) have been focused on US aggregate data. In contrast to these studies, this paper empirically assesses the industrial effect of ICT investment on three key variables – real output, employment, and labour productivity – in some European Union-15 (EU-15) countries and the USA using panel-vector autoregression models. An increase in ICT investment is positive for the economies of these countries, giving rise to larger growth in real output, employment, and labour productivity at the industrial level. The pattern of responses to changes in ICT investment is quantitatively diverse across most of the EU-15 countries studied and in the two types of industries considered (i.e. ICT-intensive and less intensive industries). Moreover, the positive impact on labour productivity in ICT-intensive industries is larger after the mid-1990s, with the USA being the most positively affected country.     

中国制造业企业与跨国公司合作战略绩效

本文构建出了包含中国制造业企业的资源与能力、中国制造业企业与跨国公司合作伙伴之间的关系以及合作治理的结构特征3个层面的整合模型,提出了相应理论假设,并以中国制造业企业为样本进行问卷调研和统计分析。实证结果表明,中国制造业企业的组织吸收能力、组织沟通能力跨国公司的资源互补性,中国制造业企业与跨国公司合作伙伴之间的目标一致性、信任水平、承诺水平,以及合作治理结构的正式化程度、集权化程度和复杂化程度对合作战略绩效具有显著影响。     

CAN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE STOCK MARKET EFFICIENCY? A CROSS‐COUNTRY STUDY

The rapid advance of information and communication technology (ICT) has revolutionized the dissemination of stock market information. Based on the noise trading theory, this study discusses whether the changes brought by ICT have promoted the transparency of stock market information or instead flooded the stock market with misinformation. A cross‐country panel dataset of 71 countries from 2002 to 2014 was established. The empirical methodologies include panel unit root tests, panel variance ratio tests, and panel multiple regressions. The results of panel unit root tests and panel variance ratio tests show that stock markets in countries with high ICT diffusion are efficient while stock markets in countries with low or medium ICT diffusion are not all efficient. The results of panel regressions further show that the effect of ICT diffusion in reducing market noises was more significant than its effect in magnifying the noises.     

Why did the terms of payment in international trade change so much?

This article examines factors contributing to the substantial change in the terms of payment, such as letter of credit (LC) and cash terms, in Korean export transactions during the period 1997–2015, using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds test approach. We find that high competition in the world market, the expansion of exports of information technology products and intra-firm trade, and the improvement of information and communication technology (ICT) decrease the share of exports on LC terms in total exports in the long run. However, the increase in exports to developing countries raises the use of LC terms. On the other hand, the increase in intra-firm trade and ICT improvement raise the share of exports settled in cash, and higher trust between trading partners increases the use of cash terms.     

To innovate or to transfer?

FDI has been considered by many development economists as an important channel for transfer of technology to developing countries. It is suggested that modern, advanced technologies introduced by multinational firms can diffuse to domestic firms through spillovers. In this paper, we study innovation and technology transfer activities of domestic and foreign firms in Turkish manufacturing industries, and the impact of horizontal, vertical and labor spillovers on these activities. Our analysis shows that foreign firms are more innovative than their domestic counterparts, and transfer technology from abroad (mostly from their parent companies). Horizontal spillovers from foreign firms seem to be insignificant. The effects of foreign firms on technological activities of other firms in vertically related industries are ambiguous. High-tech suppliers tend to have a high rate of innovation when the share of foreign users is high, but the opposite is true for users: high-tech users supplied mainly by foreign firms tend to have a lower rate of innovation. Labor turnover is found to be the main channel of spillovers. Our findings reiterate the importance of tacitness of knowledge, and confirm that technology cannot easily be transferred through passive mechanisms.     

Exploring promising vacant technology areas in a technology-oriented company based on bibliometric analysis and visualisation*

Under technology convergence phenomenon and fast-changing social demands, it is inevitable to collect and analyze a large amount of information in order to determine a vacant technology area that can preempt the market. Thus, this research aims to propose a systematic approach to identifying vacant technology areas by reflecting the technological competitiveness of company. Vacant technology is identified as underdeveloped and undeveloped vacant areas for a firm in both macroscopic and microscopic view by generating a technology level map in a practical view. In addition, vacant technology can be identified as undiscovered vacant areas in a microscopic view by using generative topology mapping (GTM) and local outlier factor (LOF). In a respective view, the promising vacant areas are defined by developing various indicators that represent competitive strength, growth stage, and marketability in both macro and micro level, and novelty indicators that represent originality and marketability in the micro level. The proposed approach is applied to the information & communication technology (ICT) R&D technology classification to validate its usefulness. The results can be used to enhance the practical application of R&D technology planning, understand the current technology level, and perform future technology planning.     

跨国公司技术控制背景下我国ICT产业的专利战略探讨

随着我国ICT产业的发展和企业竞争力的增强,跨国公司开始对我国企业加强技术控制,设置技术壁垒,阻碍国内企业的发展。专利已经成为制约我国ICT产业发展的瓶颈。在研究我国ICT产业专利状况和跨国企业技术控制的基础上,提出建立以政府为引导、企业为主体的自主创新体系,制定和实施适合我国ICT产业发展的专利战略,才能抓住ICT产业全球性转型契机,赢得后发优势,实现技术跨越。     

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Singapore’s economic growth

Singapore’s remarkable success in economic development has been strongly associated with the country’s vigorous efforts to embrace the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution to promote economic growth. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of the contributions of ICT to Singapore’s economic growth during the 1990–2008 period. It documents three key findings. First, there is a strong positive association between the intensity of ICT use and value-added and labor productivity growth at the sector level. Second, ICT investment contributed approximately 1 percentage point to Singapore’s GDP during 1990–2008, and its role in driving economic growth has become increasingly important over time. Third, the contribution of the ICT manufacturing sector to Singapore’s growth was notable, but it was on the decline and faced difficult restructuring challenges. This paper also provides valuable policy lessons and strategic insights for governments in both developed and developing countries that aspire to embrace ICT to promote economic growth.     

经济转轨、跨国公司进入与国有企业改革

任何转轨国家向市场经济过渡都要面临改革与开放的问题.因此,本文在经济开放的背景下,着重突出跨国公司与转轨国家之间经济的紧密联系,建立跨国公司、转轨国家政府、国内企业三者之间的混合寡占博弈模型,并以市场开放、自由化、私有化等政策变量作为影响转轨进程的外生变量,分析开放程度和经济调控手段以及跨国企业的投资策略等对转轨国家国有企业民营化进程和转轨国家国有企业竞争力的影响.研究表明,转轨国家在经济开放的条件下,对国有企业完全民营化并非是改革的最优方案,而对国有企业的部分民营化效果反而会更好,也符合社会福利最大化的原则.而税率、技术、转移价格等也是影响转轨国家社会福利和转轨国家企业产量和竞争能力的重要因素.