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This paper conducts an explorative study to examine the evolution of Multinational Corporation (MNC) subunit roles based on the characteristics of its competence creating (CC) activities. The study focuses on the heterogeneity of firm-specific evolutionary paths in the patterns of knowledge accumulation that support competence creating (CC) activities. Using continuous variables instead of creating categorization of subunit roles, we create a model to examine the strategic roles of MNC subunits, based upon the evolutionary trajectory of a subunit’s CC activities and its technological distance from its parent company. We identify and measure subunit CC intensity and subunit technological distance as the two determining dimensions that characterize an MNC subunit’s pattern of innovation in terms of competence-creating. The innovative activity was observed from large firms of the general chemical industry, with data that covers an over thirty-year window, to explore the characteristics of competence creation activities, and to examine the proposed typologies. Using the longitudinal observation, we further examine the evolution of MNC subunit roles based on the characteristics of their competence creating activities, and demonstrate several real world business examples of subunit typologies. This research makes both theoretical and methodological contributions to the literature of MNC innovation and subunit strategic roles by presenting a continuous model to examine competence-creating activities of MNC subunits. A connection between statistical data analysis and individual firm examples is made in the discussion of subunit evolutionary trajectories, which can lend itself to possibilities of in-depth case studies. Using the typology designed in this study, we can further examine the relationship between MNC strategy and subunit role evolution, using the continuous variables to describe a subunit’s innovative activities rather than categorizing subunits as a CC or CE type, which in turn allows for a more realistic understanding of MNC subunit behavior – as innovative firms should always have a combination of CC and CE innovations.

This article assesses the contributions of industry leaders, smaller corporations, and independent inventors to the international technological specialization of Great Britain in the interwar years. For the first time, we compare directly the contribution of these sources and combine the Chandlerian and “sources of invention” perspectives. The analysis is based on a novel dataset of more than 8,000 patents granted in the USA to British inventions. Our findings show the extent to which Britain integrated inventions generated by independent inventors with those of corporate inventors, i.e., industry leaders and smaller corporations, in both engineering- and science-based fields. This research highlights specificities of a former leader’s transition from the technological paradigm of the first phase of capitalism to that of the second phase.

This research explores the enablers of emerging-market firms (EMFs) leapfrogging in the internationalization process. Although many studies on rapid internationalization focus on exporting activities, we expand the concept to a higher-commitment entry mode: foreign direct investment (FDI). In addition, we investigate the role of an understudied force, foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) in emerging markets, in enabling rapid internationalization of EMFs. Our hypotheses are tested using 1,612 first-time outward FDI projects from China between 2000 and 2014. The largely supported results suggest that minority foreign ownership and co-location with foreign MNEs allow EMFs to leapfrog certain stages in the establishment chain. Our findings offer alternative explanations, besides the government steward logic, to EMFs’ international expansion and contribute to the understanding, from a policy standpoint, that encouraging foreign-local partnerships is conducive to host-country industrial upgrading.

Drawing on population ecology theory (PET) which conceptualizes an individual organization's survival as a result of organizational changes at the population level, we explain why multinational enterprises (MNEs) from emerging markets prefer to enter countries with an existing population of co-national peers. Our study of a sample of Chinese MNEs shows that the size of co-national MNEs population in the host country has a positive effect on new FDI entries by firms from the same home country. Interestingly, the co-province and co-industry-formed organizational population in the host country has an inverted U-shaped effect on the new FDI entries, and that provincial dialect and co-national immigrants flatten this curvilinear effect. We also analyze how the focal relationships vary between host countries with different levels of economic development and between different industries. Our study contributes to the research of FDI location choices by providing a population ecology-based explanation that differs fundamentally from those based on agglomeration economics and institutional theory. The study also advances PET by theorizing how legitimizing and competing forces interact to jointly influence the way the extant population of certain types of organizations influences the entries of the same type of organizations into the population.

PurposeThis paper explains the mechanisms underlying the generation of two-way knowledge spillovers through the interaction of subsidiaries with differentiated local responsibilities and domestic firms.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on firm-level panel data from a census of Colombian manufacturing firms for the period 2003–2012. The estimation procedure involves two stages. In the first one, total factor productivity (TFP) of foreign and domestic firms is estimated. In a second step, we estimate conventional spillovers (from foreign-owned to local firms) and reverse spillovers (from local to foreign-owned firms) separately, using a random effect approach.FindingsThis study’s findings reveal that only locally creative subsidiaries enjoy positive and significant two-way knowledge spillover effects. The connectivity of subsidiaries to local and international networks is reinforced by reciprocal relationships among actors that enhance bidirectional knowledge flows, these being favored by the dynamics of clustering effects.Originality/valueThe paper contributes with new empirical evidence about the mechanism explaining how the technological heterogeneity of subsidiaries plays a determinant role in the generation of both knowledge flows from foreign to domestic firms and to the reverse, all integrated into the same framework.

A globally expressivist analysis of the indicative conditional based on the Ramsey Test is presented. The analysis is a form of ‘global’ expressivism in that it supplies acceptance and rejection conditions for all the sentence forming connectives of propositional logic (negation, disjunction, etc.) and so allows the conditional to embed in arbitrarily complex sentences (thus avoiding the Frege–Geach problem). The expressivist framework is semantically characterized in a restrictor semantics due to Vann McGee, and is completely axiomatized in a logic dubbed ICL (‘Indicative Conditional Logic’). The expressivist framework extends the AGM (after Alchourron, Gärdenfors, Makinson) framework for belief revision and so provides a categorical (‘yes’–‘no’) epistemology for conditionals that complements McGee’s probabilistic framework while drawing on the same semantics. The result is an account of the semantics and acceptability conditions of the indicative conditional that fits well with the linguistic data (as pooled by linguists and from psychological experiments) while integrating both expressivist and semanticist perspectives.

After a century of inter-regional income convergence, average incomes have been diverging between U.S. cities since the 1980s, calling for new policy agendas. We argue that policy research should move beyond its current focus on the effects of inter-city divergence from technological change, migration, and trade, to include the effect of outward foreign-direct investments (OFDIs). This paper suggests that OFDIs have contributed to income divergence across U.S. cities. We argue that OFDIs can positively contribute to average income levels in investing (home) cities through labor, knowledge, multiplier and trade effects – a relationship that has not been systematically investigated in prior research. It is suggested that regional income levels and OFDIs are subject to a virtuous co-evolutionary process for high-income cities while having weaker effects for lower-income cities. This is tested with a combination of fixed-effects panel regressions and quantile regressions, before and after the 2008/2009 financial crisis. Our key finding is that, while OFDIs have a positive effect on regional income levels in the post-crisis period, their effect is largest for cities with incomes around the 60th to 80th percentiles of the income distribution. This suggests that the benefits of OFDIs primarily accrue to already successful city-regions, allowing them to further their pre-existing lead.

Insights from social network research have generated significant advancements in disciplines such as sociology, economics, and psychology. In comparison, the incorporation of social network ideas into international business (IB) research remains more limited. The purpose of this special issue is to foster further research on social networks in IB. In our introductory essay, we provide a brief overview of network research in the IB domain to give a sense of some of the major ongoing themes and to illustrate how the social network approach can provide fresh insights and add substantive value to the field. To emphasize the considerable potential of using social network theories and ideas to advance research and understanding in IB, we also indicate some future directions. We follow these with a summary of the five articles in the special issue.

This chapter describes the evolution of international networks for innovation in international business. It proposes a framework that accounts for two key dimensions: time and the potential for knowledge recombination. Within this framework, the chapter describes the shift of studies from hierarchical to networked Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) in relation to the potential for knowledge recombination and, in turn, cross-border innovation. It discusses the crucial role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the information age in enhancing greater connectivity between internal and external knowledge networks and local and global locations. In revising the relevant literature, the authors adopt the lens of the evolutionary theory which helps us in understanding the dynamics of knowledge creation in MNEs’ networks.

The governance structures of the value-creating activities of MNEs have evolved towards more networked forms that are geographically highly concentrated and involve partnering with diverse actors. The experimentation that takes place within these corporate networks has a parallel on the government side, where subnational governments, and particularly cities as hubs of economic activity, have increased their profile and level of cooperative activity. We argue that engagement in these partnerships is an essential way in which firms and governments co-evolve and create the basis for sustainable economic growth in the Information Age. While the origins of this collaborative form of governance reside in the increasing knowledge intensity of value creation, its implications go far beyond MNE value creation and capture, extending to issues of global governance such as climate change and sustainable development goals. We examine the implications of this process of co-evolution both in terms of the costs of developing the requisite corporate capabilities as well as the legitimacy of these efforts as part of a deliberative democracy.Les structures de gouvernance des activités de création de valeur des EMN ont évolué vers des formes plus réticulaires qui sont géographiquement très concentrées et qui impliquent des partenariats avec divers acteurs. L’expérimentation qui a lieu au sein de ces réseaux d’entreprises a un parallèle du côté gouvernemental, où les gouvernements infranationaux, et en particulier les villes en tant que centres d’activité économique, ont accru leur profil et leur niveau d’activité coopérative. Nous soutenons que l’engagement dans ces partenariats est un moyen essentiel pour les entreprises et les gouvernements de co-évoluer et de créer les bases d’une croissance économique durable à l’ère de l’information. Bien que les origines de cette forme de gouvernance collaborative résident dans l’intensité croissante des connaissances en matière de création de valeur, ses implications vont bien au-delà de la création et de la récupération de valeur par les EMN, s’étendant aux questions de gouvernance mondiale telles que le changement climatique et les objectifs de développement durable. Nous examinons les implications de ce processus de co-évolution à la fois en termes de coûts de développement des capacités d’entreprise requises, ainsi que de légitimité de ces efforts dans le cadre d’une démocratie délibérative.Las estructuras de gobernanza en las actividades de creación de valor de las empresas multinacionales han evolucionado hacia formas más interconectadas que están altamente concentradas geográficamente y que implican asociarse con diversos actores. La experimentación que se lleva a cabo dentro de estas redes corporativas tiene un paralelo con el lado gubernamental en donde los gobiernos sub-nacionales, y en particular las ciudades como centros de actividad económica, han aumentado su perfil y nivel de actividad cooperativa. Argumentamos que la participación en estas asociaciones es una manera esencial en que las empresas y los gobiernos co-evolucionan y crean las bases para el crecimiento económico sostenible en la Era de la Información. Mientras que los orígenes de esta forma colaborativa de gobernanza residen en la creciente intensidad de conocimiento de la creación de valor, sus implicaciones van más allá de la creación y captura de valor de las empresas multinacionales, extendiéndose a los asuntos de gobernanza global como son el cambio climático y los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible. Examinamos las implicaciones de este proceso de co-evolución tanto en términos de los costos de desarrollar las capacidades corporativas necesarias, como de la legitimidad de estos esfuerzos como parte de una democracia deliberativa.As estruturas de governança das atividades de criação de valor de MNEs evoluíram para formas mais interligadas que são geograficamente altamente concentradas e que envolvem parcerias com diversos atores. A experimentação que ocorre dentro dessas redes empresariais tem um paralelo no lado governamental, onde governos subnacionais, e particularmente cidades como pólos de atividade econômica, têm aumentado seu perfil e nível de atividade cooperativa. Argumentamos que o envolvimento nessas parcerias é uma forma essencial pela qual empresas e governos coevoluem e criam a base para crescimento econômico sustentável na Era da Informação. Embora as origens dessa forma colaborativa de governança residam na crescente intensidade de conhecimento da criação de valor, suas implicações vão muito além da criação e captura de valor da MNE, estendendo-se a questões de governança global, como mudanças climáticas e metas de desenvolvimento sustentável. Examinamos as implicações desse processo de coevolução, tanto em termos dos custos de desenvolvimento das capacidades corporativas necessárias, como da legitimidade desses esforços como parte de uma democracia deliberativa.跨国公司创造价值活动的治理结构已发展为更加网络化的在地理上高度集中并涉及与不同参与者合作的形式。在这些公司网络内进行的试验在政府方面是平行的, 这对地方政府, 特别是作为经济活动中心的城市, 提高了合作活动的形象和水平。我们认为, 参与这些伙伴关系是公司和政府共同发展并为信息时代可持续经济增长奠定基础的必不可少的途径。尽管这种协作式治理形式的起源在于价值创造的知识强度的提高, 然而它的意义远超出了跨国公司的价值创造和获取, 而延伸到全球治理问题, 例如气候变化和可持续发展目标。我们从开发所必要的公司能力的成本以及作为协商民主的一部分的这些努力的合法性这两个方面研究了这个共同发展过程的意义。.

SWI/SNF-related, matrix-associated, actin-dependent regulator of chromatin subfamily A member 2 (SMARCA2), also known as Brahma homologue (BRM), is a Snf2-family DNA-dependent ATPase. BRM and its close homologue Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG1), also known as SMARCA4, are mutually exclusive ATPases of the large ATP-dependent SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complexes involved in transcriptional regulation of gene expression. No small molecules have been reported that modulate SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling activity via inhibition of its ATPase activity, an important goal given the well-established dependence of BRG1-deficient cancers on BRM. Here, we describe allosteric dual BRM and BRG1 inhibitors that downregulate BRM-dependent gene expression and show antiproliferative activity in a BRG1-mutant-lung-tumor xenograft model upon oral administration. These compounds represent useful tools for understanding the functions of BRM in BRG1-loss-of-function settings and should enable probing the role of SWI/SNF functions more broadly in different cancer contexts and those of other diseases.

The increasing interconnection of local, trans-local and transnational knowledge networks is the outcome of the coevolution of (i) knowledge centers, typically city regions, (ii) epistemic communities that are grounded in and connect these regions and (iii) firms, usually multinational enterprises (MNEs). This interaction has created opportunities for innovation, but it is also impeded by a range of frictions that arise in the process of integrating locally embedded knowledge from geographically dispersed and culturally disparate regions across different countries. This article develops a simple model of how such frictions that MNEs encounter in their knowledge internationalization process can be overcome through ongoing processes of connecting, sense-making and integrating.

This research looks into the innovative activities of subunits of large non-U.S firms in the U.S from 1969 to 1995, suggesting that the innovations in the subunits of multinational corporations are closely linked to their specializations in General Purpose Technologies (GPTs). GPTs enable recombining knowledge from different domains on an international scale, and that the specialization of innovations in GPT fields within a subunit is positively associated with the innovative capacity at large, along with the degree of technological diversification of that specific subunit. As firms expand geographically to tap into local innovation centers to develop new growth alternatives, specialization of GPTs in these firms actually facilitates further geographical dispersion of innovative activities across locations. Lastly, additional specializations of innovations in GPT fields within the host innovation centers does help in attracting innovation activities of firms from a wider range of industries.

Purpose Through increasing globalization, cities are becoming increasingly interconnected with each other. To remain competitive, it is necessary for cities to combine complementary non-local sources of knowledge with local knowledge sources. The authors contend that an increase in non-local knowledge sourcing tends to enhance local knowledge sourcing too. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of international knowledge sources on the capacity to build upon local knowledge sources in a city region. In addition, the authors investigate whether information and communication technologies (ICT) knowledge sources have a bigger impact than do other fields of knowledge on local knowledge connectivity. Design/methodology/approach Using the US Patent and Trademark Office data, the authors study knowledge sourcing trends for the years 1980-2016 across 33 global cities. Backward patent citations from these granted patents are used to identify the location of inventors of prior knowledge sources, and the geography of knowledge building connections over time is assessed by using the inventor locations of cited (source) and citing (recipient) patents. Findings The authors show that international knowledge sourcing is highly connected with local knowledge sourcing. The authors also find that ICT have a significant effect on this relationship. However, there are significant differences across cities in the extent and nature of this relationship. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on the changing geography of knowledge connections. It provides a detailed picture of changing knowledge sourcing trends at a city region level, and it improves our understanding of the role played by a variety of knowledge connections in helping a city remain competitive.

It is argued that truth value of a sentence containing free variables in a context of use (or the truth value of the proposition it expresses in a context of use), just as the reference of the free variables concerned, depends on the assumptions and posits given by the context. However, context may under-determine the reference of a free variable and the truth value of sentences in which it occurs. It is argued that in such cases a free variable has indeterminate reference and a sentence in which it occurs may have indeterminate truth value. On letting, say, x be such that $$x^2=4$$ , the sentence ‘Either $$x=2$$ or $$x=-2$$ ’ is true but the sentence ‘ $$x=2$$ ’ has an indeterminate truth value: it is determinate that the variable x refers to either 2 or $$-2$$ , but it is indeterminate which of the two it refers to, as a result ‘ $$x=2$$ ’ has a truth value but its truth value is indeterminate. The semantic indeterminacy is analysed in a ‘radically’ supervaluational (or plurivaluational) semantic framework closely analogous to the treatment of vagueness in McGee and McLaughlin (South J Philos 33:203–251, 1994, Linguist Philos 27:123–136, 2004) and Smith (Vagueness and degrees of truth, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008), which saves bivalence, the T-schema and the truth-functional analysis of the boolean connectives. It is shown that on such an analysis the modality ‘determinately’ is quite clearly not an epistemic modality, avoiding a potential objection raised by Williamson (Vagueness, Routledge, London, 1994) against such ‘radically’ supervaluational treatments of vagueness, and that determinate truth (rather than truth simpliciter) is the semantic value preserved in classically valid arguments. The analysis is contrasted with the epistemicist proposal of Breckenridge and Magidor (Philos Stud 158:377–400, 2012) which implies that (in the given context) ‘ $$x=2$$ ’ has a determinate but unknowable truth value.

Vann McGee has proposed a counterexample to the Ramsey Test. In the counterexample, a seemingly trustworthy source has testified that p and that if not-p, then q. If one subsequently learns not-p (and so learns that the source is wrong about p), then one has reason to doubt the trustworthiness of the source (perhaps even the identity of the source) and so, the argument goes, one has reason to doubt the conditional asserted by the source. Since what one learns is that the antecedent of the conditional holds, these doubts are contrary to the Ramsey Test. We argue that the counterexample fails. It rests on a principle of testimonial dependence that is not applicable when a source hedges his or her claims.

This paper examines the effects of co-location of inventions and geographic overlaps of external sources on the reciprocal exchange of knowledge between leading MNEs in the pharmaceutical industry....

PRC2 is a multisubunit methyltransferase involved in epigenetic regulation of early embryonic development and cell growth. The catalytic subunit EZH2 methylates primarily lysine 27 of histone H3, leading to chromatin compaction and repression of tumor suppressor genes. Inhibiting this activity by small molecules targeting EZH2 was shown to result in antitumor efficacy. Here, we describe the optimization of a chemical series representing a new class of PRC2 inhibitors which acts allosterically via the trimethyllysine pocket of the noncatalytic EED subunit. Deconstruction of a larger and complex screening hit to a simple fragment-sized molecule followed by structure-guided regrowth and careful property modulation were employed to yield compounds which achieve submicromolar inhibition in functional assays and cellular activity. The resulting molecules can serve as a simplified entry point for lead optimization and can be utilized to study this new mechanism of PRC2 inhibition and the associated biology in detail.