Live and Let Die: A Survival Analysis of Foreign R&D Units in Swedish MNEs

Lars Håkanson; Philip Kappen

doi:10.1016/j.ibusrev.2016.03.002

Live and Let Die: A Survival Analysis of Foreign R&D Units in Swedish MNEs

Lars Håkanson, Philip Kappen

Uppsala University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

This paper develops and tests a set of hypotheses regarding factors that influenced the longevity of foreign research and development units in Swedish multinational enterprises over the period 1992–2012. The results reveal an underexplored aspect of the R&D internationalization—the volatility of foreign R&D laboratories. During the investigated period, more than 40% of the R&D units in the sample had been terminated. The results substantiate earlier research regarding the negative effects of mergers and acquisitions on R&D in acquired units but show that these effects are not immediate. They appear – if at all – with a time lag of several years. The hazard of closure for an individual unit seems to be more strongly related to its role and position within the MNE than to local country characteristics. It was smaller for strongly locally embedded units and units with global mandates, but – contrary to expectations – the hazard was greater for units highly integrated with the rest of the MNE.

Original language	English
Journal	International Business Review
Volume	25
Issue number	6
Pages (from-to)	1185-1196
Number of pages	12
ISSN	0969-5931
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2016.03.002
Publication status	Published - Dec 2016

Keywords

International R&D
Survival analysis
Population ecology
Swedish MNEs
Subsidiary evolution

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title = "Live and Let Die: A Survival Analysis of Foreign R&D Units in Swedish MNEs",

abstract = "This paper develops and tests a set of hypotheses regarding factors that influenced the longevity of foreign research and development units in Swedish multinational enterprises over the period 1992–2012. The results reveal an underexplored aspect of the R&D internationalization—the volatility of foreign R&D laboratories. During the investigated period, more than 40% of the R&D units in the sample had been terminated. The results substantiate earlier research regarding the negative effects of mergers and acquisitions on R&D in acquired units but show that these effects are not immediate. They appear – if at all – with a time lag of several years. The hazard of closure for an individual unit seems to be more strongly related to its role and position within the MNE than to local country characteristics. It was smaller for strongly locally embedded units and units with global mandates, but – contrary to expectations – the hazard was greater for units highly integrated with the rest of the MNE.",

keywords = "International R&D, Survival analysis, Population ecology, Swedish MNEs, Subsidiary evolution, International R&D, Survival analysis, Population ecology, Swedish MNEs, Subsidiary evolution",

author = "Lars H{\aa}kanson and Philip Kappen",

year = "2016",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1016/j.ibusrev.2016.03.002",

language = "English",

volume = "25",

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journal = "International Business Review",

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T2 - A Survival Analysis of Foreign R&D Units in Swedish MNEs

AU - Håkanson, Lars

AU - Kappen, Philip

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N2 - This paper develops and tests a set of hypotheses regarding factors that influenced the longevity of foreign research and development units in Swedish multinational enterprises over the period 1992–2012. The results reveal an underexplored aspect of the R&D internationalization—the volatility of foreign R&D laboratories. During the investigated period, more than 40% of the R&D units in the sample had been terminated. The results substantiate earlier research regarding the negative effects of mergers and acquisitions on R&D in acquired units but show that these effects are not immediate. They appear – if at all – with a time lag of several years. The hazard of closure for an individual unit seems to be more strongly related to its role and position within the MNE than to local country characteristics. It was smaller for strongly locally embedded units and units with global mandates, but – contrary to expectations – the hazard was greater for units highly integrated with the rest of the MNE.

AB - This paper develops and tests a set of hypotheses regarding factors that influenced the longevity of foreign research and development units in Swedish multinational enterprises over the period 1992–2012. The results reveal an underexplored aspect of the R&D internationalization—the volatility of foreign R&D laboratories. During the investigated period, more than 40% of the R&D units in the sample had been terminated. The results substantiate earlier research regarding the negative effects of mergers and acquisitions on R&D in acquired units but show that these effects are not immediate. They appear – if at all – with a time lag of several years. The hazard of closure for an individual unit seems to be more strongly related to its role and position within the MNE than to local country characteristics. It was smaller for strongly locally embedded units and units with global mandates, but – contrary to expectations – the hazard was greater for units highly integrated with the rest of the MNE.

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KW - Survival analysis

KW - Population ecology

KW - Swedish MNEs

KW - Subsidiary evolution

KW - International R&D

KW - Survival analysis

KW - Population ecology

KW - Swedish MNEs

KW - Subsidiary evolution

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