<p>Over the last few decades, the industrialized world in general and the automobile industry in particular was hit by immense changes which strongly influence the management of R&D. Trends such as globalization and sharp competition on worldwide open markets, increasing product complexity in order to meet the customers’ desires for more variety and individualization, technology fusion and cross industry innovations, high level of technological and competitive uncertainty, increasing pressure to reduce R&D budgets, and shorter time to market and reduced innovation cycles in consequence of rising competition, force companies to source external knowledge and to bring in and exploit outside-in innovations instead of reinventing them their selves. In the same way, the Open Innovation concept highlights the need for organizations to open up their innovation processes. As a consequence, many R&D organizations are being transformed in order to meet the upcoming challenges and established technological listening posts to source external knowledge in centers of technological excellence and innovation.</p><p>This study focus on the knowledge acquisition, transformation and transfer from innovation cluster to central R&D, and examines the roles and typologies of technological gatekeepers. Based on a sound literature review and in-depth qualitative study of the case company BMW, this thesis explores how technological listening posts can take the mediating role of technology gatekeepers and how different mechanisms and typologies for gatekeeping can be deployed for optimal transformation and transfer of external knowledge into internal innovation.</p>

Absorptive capacity is fundamental for small-middle enterprises to increase their innovativeness and competitiveness in the market place. Human resources, being the most important asset in SMEs, might help firms to obtain adequate levels of absorptive capacity through a planned set of human resource practices. The hu-man costs of implementing such practices, however, cannot be neglected, and this paper studies the relationship between these different variables.

Over the last few decades, the industrialized world in general and the automobile industry in particular was hit by immense changes which strongly influence the management of R&amp;D. Trends such as globalization and sharp competition on worldwide open markets, increasing product complexity in order to meet the customers’ desires for more variety and individualization, technology fusion and cross industry innovations, high level of technological and competitive uncertainty, increasing pressure to reduce R&amp;D budgets, and shorter time to market and reduced innovation cycles in consequence of rising competition, force companies to source external knowledge and to bring in and exploit outside-in innovations instead of reinventing them their selves. In the same way, the Open Innovation concept highlights the need for organizations to open up their innovation processes. As a consequence, many R&amp;D organizations are being transformed in order to meet the upcoming challenges and established technological listening posts to source external knowledge in centers of technological excellence and innovation. This study focus on the knowledge acquisition, transformation and transfer from innovation cluster to central R&amp;D, and examines the roles and typologies of technological gatekeepers. Based on a sound literature review and in-depth qualitative study of the case company BMW, this thesis explores how technological listening posts can take the mediating role of technology gatekeepers and how different mechanisms and typologies for gatekeeping can be deployed for optimal transformation and transfer of external knowledge into internal innovation.

Contemporary studies in international management field conceptualize subsidiaries as semi-autonomous entities. By involving in entrepreneurial undertakings and strategic activities, subsidiaries could contribute strategic value to parent multinational corporation (MNC). Distinguishing from previous researches derived from entrepreneurship theory and done by Birkinshaw and his colleagues, this study incorporated human capital theory and knowledge-based view (KBV) to fulfill the existing research gap and enlarged our understanding of subsidiary entrepreneurship. This research proposed two models to unlock and testify the underexplored phenomenon of subsidiary entrepreneurship. In the first model, this research incorporated human capital management in MNCs context and testified that not merely top management team (TMT) entrepreneurial leadership and subsidiary entrepreneurial culture were critical antecedents of subsidiary¡¦s strategic initiative, but the human resource management (HRM) practices of subsidiary talent management played an important mediator to generate the entrepreneurial system. In the second model, this study demonstrated the cross-field integration and synthesis of entrepreneurial literatures, human capital theory and knowledge-based view and expressed a more comprehensive illustration of strategic entrepreneurship. This study certified that absorptive capacity could facilitate subsidiary¡¦s entrepreneurial culture and further enhance subsidiary¡¦s strategic initiative. Moreover, subsidiary¡¦s practices of talent management could facilitate its absorptive capacity and further contribute to subsidiary¡¦s strategic outputs. By analyzing the empirical data collected from 202 MNCs¡¦ foreign subsidiaries in Asian area, this study testified that the subsidiaries which could contribute strategic value creation for parent MNCs should equip multilayer of initiative-takings: the local distinctive capability, market initiative and knowledge outflow. Furthermore, the HRM practices of talent management in subsidiary played critical mediating role on both the development of organizational capability, improvement of absorptive capacity and the enhancement of subsidiary strategic initiative. TMT entrepreneurial leadership was the core engine which could activate subsidiary¡¦s mechanisms to facilitate the activities of strategic value creations.

An empirical survey methodology is applied to test the research model and hypotheses proposed in this study. Five out of ten hypotheses are validated in our research model with Path Analysis. The research result reveals that the structural dimension of a group¡¦s social capital has the most impact on its absorptive abilities. On the other hand, a firm¡¦s absorptive capability of knowledge is affected by the relational dimensions of group external social capital. Furthermore, the result validates that both absorptive capability and the performance of project and product exhibit significant path dependency. This result will be useful to both the academic and business particularly in its advocacy of the cultivation of the structural dimension of a group¡¦s social capital.

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In this study we explored the relationship between absorptive capacity, knowledge sourcing strategy, alliance forms, and firm performance. Based on the literature and case study, we proposed the concept of knowledge sourcing strategy in alliance contexts, which can be categorized into two types¡Xknowledge internalization strategy and knowledge access strategy. From organizational learning perspective, we argue that a firm¡¦s absorptive capacity has a positive influence on knowledge internalization strategy, and accordingly a firm¡¦s governance choices of alliances are also influenced. Firm¡¦s R&D performance are also included in theoretical model in order to generate further managerial implications. Instead of using conventional regression method, we adopt Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to conduct path-analysis, in that SEM is well suited to verifying causal models. We argue that firms should seek a better alignment between absorptive capacity, knowledge sourcing strategy, alliance forms, and firm performance. Our arguments are supported by empirical analysis of a sample of 148 R&D alliances involving computer, telecommunication, LCD/LED, semiconductor, and electronic machinery industry.

Multiple customer needs and rapid technological change are what MNCs are confronted with, thus, they rely on subsidiaries responding to local market needs. The ability of subsidiaries to integrate resources to respond to market opportunities determines its competitiveness, and contributes to whole corporate. The purpose of this dissertation is to construct an integrative framework toward generating subsidiary initiatives and competitiveness. Structural equation modeling was employed to verify the conceptual framework. Based on the results of SEM, entrepreneurial leadership of top management teams enhances the talent on the process of human-capital leveraging to facilitate them to be creative and agile; further, promote collective learning among members. Additionally, with the support of top management teams, learning culture of subsidiaries can be strengthened. Support of top management team, human-capital leveraging and learning culture, improve the absorptive capacity, further, they promote subsidiary initiatives and competitiveness.

<p>Absorptive capacity is fundamental for small-middle enterprises to increase their innovativeness and competitiveness in the market place. Human resources, being the most important asset in SMEs, might help firms to obtain adequate levels of absorptive capacity through a planned set of human resource practices. The hu-man costs of implementing such practices, however, cannot be neglected, and this paper studies the relationship between these different variables.</p>

How can we understand the innovativeness of firms or organizations in general, and how should we assess it in terms of nontechnological innovation? My paper deals with these two questions. The “ability” of companies to adapt to new circumstances, to create new products, processes and new knowledge, has been conceptualized in many approaches. Some of them simply define a list of “(critical) success factors” or “(key) performance indica-tors”, as tools for ranking and evaluation, without any theoretical reference. Others, like the resource-based or capability-based approach(es), work with theoretical references, but are still very weak in operationalizing of what they call “capability”. My paper gives a critical description of this situation and offers a new proposal to classify and to measure the “inclination” of organizations to innovate in all dimensions. This proposal roots in pragmatistic thinking as represented in the theory of reflexive modernization and in the pragmatist version of organizational learning theory. Empirically, it has been applied merely in case studies yet. A survey project is in preparation.