Abstract
Like Intel, many MNEs are increasingly dedicating their important resources (financial, technological, and human) to global research and development (R&D) in search of sustained competitive
advantages in the global marketplace. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, R&D has been
fundamentally globalized, with core innovative capabilities remaining close to corporate headquarters in the home country. Many Western MNEs are extending their R&D activities not only in
other developed countries but also in developing countries, especially emerging markets (e.g., IBM’s
R&D center in Beijing, China). At the same time, MNEs from newly industrialized nations such
as Asia’s mini-dragons (South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) have begun to relocate
many R&D activities abroad.