IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/not/notgep/09-04.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Drivers of the Offshore Outsourcing of R&D: Empirical Evidence from French Manufacturers

Author

Listed:
  • Liza Jabbour
  • Maria Pluvia Zuniga

Abstract

The pace of technological change and the challenges faced by companies to remain competitive in global markets have contributed to a global expansion of R&D transactions. This paper shows that French companies engaged in the offshore outsourcing of R&D are outward oriented essentially through exports. Further, single unit companies seem more active in this type of R&D transaction than companies belonging to a group. These findings suggest a stronger integration of small and medium size exporting companies into international networks of innovation. Technological sourcing seems to be leading this phenomenon more than cost-opportunities motivations.

Suggested Citation

  • Liza Jabbour & Maria Pluvia Zuniga, 2009. "Drivers of the Offshore Outsourcing of R&D: Empirical Evidence from French Manufacturers," Discussion Papers 09/04, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    • Handle: RePEc:not:notgep:09/04
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/gep/documents/papers/2009/09-04.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tomiura, Eiichi, 2005. "Foreign outsourcing and firm-level characteristics: Evidence from Japanese manufacturers," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 255-271, June.
    2. Veugelers, Reinhilde & Cassiman, Bruno, 1999. "Make and buy in innovation strategies: evidence from Belgian manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 63-80, January.
    3. Aghion, Philippe & Tirole, Jean, 1997. "Formal and Real Authority in Organizations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(1), pages 1-29, February.
    4. Arie Lewin & Silvia Massini & Carine Peeters, 2008. "Why are companies offshoring innovation ?the emerging global race for talent," Working Papers CEB 08-009, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Philippe Aghion & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2003. "Vertical Integration and Distance to Frontier," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(2-3), pages 630-638, 04/05.
    6. Cesaroni, Fabrizio, 2004. "Technological outsourcing and product diversification: do markets for technology affect firms' strategies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1547-1564, December.
    7. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August.
    8. Amemiya, Takeshi, 1973. "Regression Analysis when the Dependent Variable is Truncated Normal," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 41(6), pages 997-1016, November.
    9. W H Davidson & Donald G McFetridge, 1985. "Key Characteristics in the Choice of International Technology Transfer Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 16(2), pages 5-21, June.
    10. Pierre Blanchard & Jean-Pierre Huiban & Patrick Sevestre, 2010. "R&D and Productivity in Corporate Groups: An Empirical Investigation Using a Panel of French Firms," NBER Chapters, in: Contributions in Memory of Zvi Griliches, pages 461-485, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Smith, Richard J & Blundell, Richard W, 1986. "An Exogeneity Test for a Simultaneous Equation Tobit Model with an Application to Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(3), pages 679-685, May.
    12. Pol Antràs, 2005. "Incomplete Contracts and the Product Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1054-1073, September.
    13. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    14. Elhanan Helpman & Marc J. Melitz & Stephen R. Yeaple, 2004. "Export Versus FDI with Heterogeneous Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 300-316, March.
    15. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 2005. "Outsourcing in a Global Economy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(1), pages 135-159.
    16. Kaiser, Ulrich, 2002. "Measuring knowledge spillovers in manufacturing and services: an empirical assessment of alternative approaches," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 125-144, January.
    17. Masao Nakamura & Hiroyuki Odagiri, 2003. "Transaction costs and capabilities as determinants of the R&D boundaries of the firm: a case study of the ten largest pharmaceutical firms in Japan," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2-3), pages 187-211.
    18. Mol, Michael J., 2005. "Does being R&D intensive still discourage outsourcing?: Evidence from Dutch manufacturing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 571-582, May.
    19. Davidson, W H & McFetridge, Donald G, 1984. "International Technology Transactions and the Theory of the Firm," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 253-264, March.
    20. Athreye, Suma & Cantwell, John, 2007. "Creating competition?: Globalisation and the emergence of new technology producers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 209-226, March.
    21. Beverly B. Tyler & H. Kevin Steensma, 1995. "Evaluating technological collaborative opportunities: A cognitive modeling perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(S1), pages 43-70.
    22. Grazia D. Santangelo, 2002. "Innovation in Multinational Corporations in the Information Age," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2460.
    23. repec:ner:ucllon:http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/17678/ is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Ashish Arora & Andrea Fosfuri & Alfonso Gambardella, 2004. "Markets for Technology: The Economics of Innovation and Corporate Strategy," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262511819, December.
    25. Kamien, Morton I. & Zang, Israel, 2000. "Meet me halfway: research joint ventures and absorptive capacity," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(7), pages 995-1012, October.
    26. ITO Banri & TOMIURA Eiichi & WAKASUGI Ryuhei, 2007. "Dissecting Offshore Outsourcing and R&D: A Survey of Japanese Manufacturing Firms," Discussion papers 07060, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    27. Head, Keith & Ries, John, 2003. "Heterogeneity and the FDI versus export decision of Japanese manufacturers," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 448-467, December.
    28. Florida, Richard, 1997. "The globalization of R&D: Results of a survey of foreign-affiliated R&D laboratories in the USA," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 85-103, March.
    29. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    30. Eric von Hippel, 1994. ""Sticky Information" and the Locus of Problem Solving: Implications for Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(4), pages 429-439, April.
    31. 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.
    32. Kuemmerle, Walter, 1999. "Foreign direct investment in industrial research in the pharmaceutical and electronics industries--results from a survey of multinational firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 179-193, March.
    33. Liza Jabbour, 2012. "‘Slicing the Value Chain’ Internationally: Empirical Evidence on the Offshoring Strategy by French Firms," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(11), pages 1417-1447, November.
    34. Veugelers, Reinhilde, 1997. "Internal R & D expenditures and external technology sourcing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 303-315, October.
    35. Tomiura, Eiichi, 2009. "Foreign versus domestic outsourcing: Firm-level evidence on the role of technology," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 219-226, March.
    36. Lucia Cusmano & Maria Luisa Mancusi & Andrea Morrison, 2010. "Globalization of Production and Innovation: How Outsourcing is Reshaping an Advanced Manufacturing Area," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 235-252.
    37. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    38. Arora, Ashish & Gambardella, Alfonso, 1994. "Evaluating technological information and utilizing it : Scientific knowledge, technological capability, and external linkages in biotechnology," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 91-114, June.
    39. Lee G. Branstetter & Raymond Fisman & C. Fritz Foley, 2006. "Do Stronger Intellectual Property Rights Increase International Technology Transfer? Empirical Evidence from U. S. Firm-Level Panel Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(1), pages 321-349.
    40. Cassiman, Bruno & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2002. "Complementarity in the innovation strategy: Internal R&D, external technology acquisition, and cooperation in R&D," IESE Research Papers D/457, IESE Business School.
    41. Arora, Ashish & Gambardella, Alfonso, 1990. "Complementarity and External Linkages: The Strategies of the Large Firms in Biotechnology," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 361-379, June.
    42. Niosi, Jorge & Godin, Benoit, 1999. "Canadian R&D abroad management practices," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 215-230, 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. Gavin Murphy & Iulia Siedschlag, 2015. "Determinants of R&D offshoring," JRC Working Papers on Corporate R&D and Innovation 2015-02, Joint Research Centre.
    2. Adelheid Holl & Ruth Rama, 2014. "Foreign Subsidiaries and Technology Sourcing in Spain," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 43-64, January.
    3. Mery Patricia Tamayo & Elena Huergo, 2017. "Determinants of internal and external R&D offshoring: evidence from Spanish firms," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 143-164, February.
    4. Gavin Murphy & Iulia Siedschlag, 2018. "Determinants of R&D offshoring: firm-level evidence from a small open economy," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 35(2), pages 529-553, August.

    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. Liza Jabbour & Pluvia Zuniga, 2016. "The Outsourcing of Research and Development in Global Markets: Evidence from France," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(3), pages 339-368, March.
    2. 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.
    3. Levin, Mark (Левин, Марк) & Matrosova, K. (Матросова, К.), 2016. "Research, Modeling and Process Management Dissemination of Innovations in Socio-Economic Systems [Исследование, Моделирование И Управление Процессами Распространения Инноваций В Социально-Экономиче," Working Papers 1443, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    4. Arbussà, Anna & Coenders, Germà, 2005. "Innovation strategies in the presence of technology markets: evidence from Spanish innovative firms," Working Papers of the Department of Economics, University of Girona 15, Department of Economics, University of Girona.
    5. Zuniga, Pluvia & Crespi, Gustavo, 2013. "Innovation strategies and employment in Latin American firms," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 1-17.
    6. Kenta Nakamura & Hiroyuki Odagiri, 2005. "R&D boundaries of the firm: An estimation of the double-hurdle model on commissioned R&D, joint R&D, and licensing in Japan," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(7), pages 583-615.
    7. Schmiedeberg, Claudia, 2008. "Complementarities of innovation activities: An empirical analysis of the German manufacturing sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1492-1503, October.
    8. Spithoven, André & Teirlinck, Peter, 2015. "Internal capabilities, network resources and appropriation mechanisms as determinants of R&D outsourcing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 711-725.
    9. Claudio A. Piga & Marco Vivarelli, 2004. "Internal and External R&D: A Sample Selection Approach," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 66(4), pages 457-482, September.
    10. Liza Jabbour, 2008. "Market Thickness, Sunk Entry Costs, Firm Heterogeneity and the Outsourcing Decision: Empirical Evidence of Manufacturing Firms in France," Discussion Papers 08/20, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    11. Veugelers, Reinhilde & Cassiman, Bruno, 2002. "Complementarity in the Innovation Strategy: Internal R&D, External Technology Acquisition and Cooperation," CEPR Discussion Papers 3284, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Laura Barbieri & Daniela Bragoli & Flavia Cortelezzi & Giovanni Marseguerra, 2015. "Public Support to Innovation Strategies," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises1509, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    13. Marco Da Rin & María Fabiana Penas, 2017. "Venture capital and innovation strategies," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 26(5), pages 781-800.
    14. 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.
    15. Avellar, Ana Paula & Kupfer, David, 2011. "Innovation and cooperation: evidence from the Brazilian innovation survey," Documentos de Proyectos 3900, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    16. Amelia U. Santos-Paulino & Mariagrazia Squicciarini & Peilei Fan, 2008. "R&D (Re)location: A Bird's Eye (Re)view," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-100, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    17. Veugelers, Reinhilde & Cassiman, Bruno, 2005. "R&D cooperation between firms and universities. Some empirical evidence from Belgian manufacturing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 355-379, June.
    18. Liza Jabbour, 2013. "Market thickness, sunk costs, productivity, and the outsourcing decision: an empirical analysis of manufacturing firms in France," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(1), pages 103-134, February.
    19. Arbussa, Anna & Coenders, Germa, 2007. "Innovation activities, use of appropriation instruments and absorptive capacity: Evidence from Spanish firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1545-1558, December.
    20. Fabrice Defever & Farid Toubal, 2007. "Productivity and the Sourcing Modes of Multinational Firms: Evidence from French Firm-Level Data," CEP Discussion Papers dp0842, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.

    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:not:notgep:09/04. 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: Hilary Hughes (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cgnotuk.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.