MULTINATIONAL-ENTERPRISES AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF INNOVATIVE CAPACITY

This paper reviews the role of multinational enterprises as creators of technological capacity, and the extent to which they assist or inhibit the geographical dispersion of such capacity in the global economy. It then goes on to consider the impact of MNE activity on the technological goals of home and host countries, and concludes that much depends on the motives for and types of foreign direct investment, the size and economic structure of the countries concerned, and the technological and macroorganizational policies pursued by Governments.