Internationalization of Innovation Activity By TNCs

Abstract

The article analyses main stages in the internationalization of innovation activity undertaken by transnational companies and offers a generalization of approaches to its various forms. The analysis of the process of R&D internationalization was carried out based on the roles of subsidiaries in the general structure (network) of TNCs. The study of the evolution of innovation processes was performed in the context of behavioral types and roles of subsidiaries within the TNC networks and the host country environments. The analysis was focused on the main types of local and global linkages in the context of scientific and technical cooperation, with particular attention paid to TNC subsidiaries with a global role in research and development. The findings exposed the impact of TNCs’ internationalization of innovations upon host countries, revealed major tendencies in global knowledge spillovers, and corroborated the significance of linkages between structural units of TNCs and their partners in the host countries.