Contextual influences on international subsidiaries' product technology strategy

We seek to test a broad range of factors that influence the technology sourcing decision of international subsidiaries in acquiring product technology from outside the firm (i.e., outsourcing) versus internal development. A regression model, used to analyze data from 187 international subsidiaries in six industries and with parents based in 14 countries, identifies the environmental, strategic, configurational, and resource endowment factors that influence the technology sourcing decision. Specifically, the level of product dynamism in the subsidiary's industry and the distance between the subsidiary's primary marketing and R&D operations are associated with a greater reliance on outsourcing. A differentiation goal, a low-cost goal, along with the level of the subsidiary's human and financial resources are associated with a greater reliance on internal development.

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