Interactive learning processes and mergers and acquisitions in national systems of innovation

Abstract

Prior evidence confirms the existence of a close relationship between home-country characteristics and knowledge-related arguments in the explanation of M&A outflows. This contribution bridges the gap between national systems of innovation (NSIs) and emerging multinationals (EMNE) literature for operationalising a bilateral learning process resulting from the link between a process of internationalisation (as followed by firms from emerging economies) and the generation of two interactive processes: domestic learning and learning abroad. The combination of them may generate positive synergies that reinforce the use of M&As by EMNE over other forms of internationalisation. The empirical analysis is built from factor analysis and cluster, and dynamic panel data methodology for a sample of 78 countries, including both developed and developing economies. With empirical analysis we demonstrate how M&A outflows may compensate for domestic weaknesses in less-advanced home NSIs through technological catch-up, and how inward foreign direct investment has contributed a positive influence.

Keywords:

• Learning abroad
• domestic learning
• home national systems of innovation
• cross-border mergers and acquisitions
• emerging multinationals

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Some crucial contributions in this direction: Awate et al. (2012), Buckley and Hashai (2014), Buckley et al. (2007); Casanova and Miroux (2018); Gaffney, Karst, and Clampit (2015); Gammeltoft, Filatotchev, and Hobdari (2012); Kalotay and Sulstarova (2010); Mudambi (2008), and Ramamurti (2012).

2 See: Alon (2010), Cuervo-Cazurra and Genc (2008, 2011), Dunning (2009), Esteban-Jardim and Urraca-Ruiz (2018), Gammeltoft et al. (2010a), Gammeltoft et al. (2010b), Guillén and García-Canal (2010), Hennart (2012), Luo and Wang (2012), Madhok and Keyhani (2012), Meyer, Mudambi, and Narula, 2011, Porter (1990), Ramamurti and Singh (2009), and Voss, Buckley, and Cross (2010).

3 See, among others: Boateng, Hua, Uddin, and Du (2014), Casanova, Chen, Chen, and Xu (2018), Dunning (2009), Gammeltoft et al. (2012), Kalotay and Sulstarova (2010), Narula (2012), Ramamurti (2012), Tolentino (2010), and Cuervo-Cazurra and Ramamurti (2017).

4 Scholars in the field of International Business have primarily found arguments justifying M&A in emerging economies based on the combination of the country of origin’s characteristics (Cuervo-Cazurra & Genc, 2008; Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2018; Dunning, 2009; Gammeltoft et al., 2010a, b; Guillén & García-Canal, 2010; Hennart, 2012; Luo & Wang, 2012; Ramamurti & Singh, 2009), and the international learning process (Awate et al., 2012; Buckley et al., 2007, 2014; Gaffney et al., 2015; Gammeltoft et al., 2012; Kalotay & Sulstarova, 2010; Mudambi, 2008; Padilla-Perez & Gomes Nogueira, 2016; Ramamurti, 2012).

5 These arguments are advanced in both the Linkage-Leverage and Learning approach and in the Springboard Investment perspective (Beule, Elia, & Piscitello, 2014; Gammeltoft et al., 2010; Mathews, 2006; Luo & Tung, 2007).

6 Boateng et al. (2014), Cuervo-Cazurra and Genc (2008), Gammeltoft et al. (2010), Gooris and Peeters (2014), Guillén and García-Canal (2010), Kotabe and Kothari (2016), Li (2010), Luo and Wang (2012), Ramamurti (2012), and Uddin and Boateng (2011).

7 EMNEs are then justified in the existence of a differentiated set of ownership advantages (Cuervo-Cazurra, 2012; Guillén & García-Canal, 2010; Ramamurti, 2012).

8 Other approaches to innovation systems refer to the industrial level and the various innovation patterns (Malerba, 2002); the regional aspect, based on sub-national units of analysis (Uyarra, 2010); or an internationalized perspective (Carlsson, 2006; Filippetti, Frenz, & Ietto-Gillies, 2011).

9 We also checked for the existence of differences between the variables included in the analysis. Therefore, the different levels of advance among the HNSIs contained in the sample can be confirmed by results obtained in the T-test (T-value for all the variables is 0.0000).

10 These variables have been previously considered by, among others, Boateng et al. (2014) and Buckley and Hashai (2014).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Isabel Álvarez

Isabel Álvarez ([email protected]): Professor at the Economics Department, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), she is the Director of the the Complutense Institute for International Studies (ICEI). PhD in Economics, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Master on Science, Society and Technology, European Interuniversity Network. Her main research interests are on the topic of multinational enterprises, innovation and development. With more than fifteen years of post-doc experience, she has published in numerous referred Journals as well as edited books and also acted as consultant for diverse national and international organisations. She has been Associated Researcher en el Weatherhead Centre for Internacional Affairs, Harvard University, and more recently Visiting Scholar in Rutgers University (New Jersey, USA).

Celia Torrecillas

Celia Torrecillas ([email protected]): Assistant Professor at the Economic Department of Applied and Structural Economics and History, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). She is PhD in Social and Legal Sciences in the specific field of International Economics, Universidad de Jaén (2014), Master degree in Innovation Economic and Management, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2011) and Legal Practices Postgraduate, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2010). Her research interests include Multinational Enterprises from developing countries, Spanish Multinational Enterprises, and Innovation and Development. She is starting her academic carrear and she has various publications in journals and edited books. She has been visiting scholar at the Trinity College in Dublin (Ireland) and at the Lineaus University in Kalmar (Sweeden).