Evolutionary perspectives on the internationalisation of R&D in Japanese multinational corporations

This article revisits the long-accepted sequential model of internationalisation of value-added activities by shedding light on variations to established wisdom. Recent internationalisation of R&D by Japanese firms demonstrates both patterns that follow established models of internationalisation and anomalies. However, there have been few efforts to address more systematically the implication of such anomalies for the temporal analysis of R&D internationalisation. Building on a set of case studies of Japanese firms in the electronics and pharmaceutical industries, this article addresses these questions and draws theoretical implications for evolutionary perspectives on internationalisation.