论文标题:跨国公司研发离岸研究
A Study on MNCs" R&D Offshoring
论文作者
论文导师 蒋瑛,论文学位 博士,论文专业 世界经济
论文单位 四川大学,点击次数 82,论文页数 211页File Size13374K
2007-03-20论文网 http://www.lw23.com/lunwen_22048392/
Multinational Corporations;; R&D offshoring;; Captive offshoring;;Offshore outsourcing;; China"s Innovation System
随着经济全球化的深入发展，越来越多的跨国公司将研发活动转移到母国以外的国家和地区进行离岸研发。相对于生产和营销活动的离岸，跨国公司研发离岸的过程才刚刚在国际领域中大规模展开。跨国公司通过它从非传统区域获得便宜的研发资源，将遍布全球的各种知识和研发资源有效地融合在一起以改善研发生产率。虽然目前研发离岸的规模较全部商业研发活动还很小，但研发离岸的速度很快，而且在未来一段时间内还将以高速发展。中国在20世纪90年代成为跨国公司重要的离岸研发目的地。尤其是90年代后期以来，外资企业在中国的研发规模加速增长，现在中国大中型企业的自主创新活动中，约1／4的创新活动是由外资企业完成的。这种发展态势势必对中国创新系统产生深远的影响。本文正是从跨国公司研发离岸现象入手深入而系统地研究这一现象，并从中国创新系统的角度探讨外资研发可能带来的影响，力图为制订我国的技术创新与管理政策，促进国家创新系统的发展，提供理论与现实依据。 全文除了导论和结束语部分，大体有三个有机组成部分：第一部分是关于跨国公司离岸研发的理论与实证分析，包括论文的第二章、第三章、第四章和第五章；第二部分是一个过渡章(第六章)，探讨中国在跨国公司离岸研发网络中的角色和地位；最后是第七章和第八章，关于外资在华研发与中国创新系统的关系的分析，并在此基础上提出促进中国创新系统受益于外资研发的对策。 第二章首先回顾和梳理了跨国公司研发离岸的理论基础。传统理论如国际投资理论、跨国公司理论、竞争优势理论、交易成本理论等为研究跨国公司研发离岸现象提供了部分的理论解释。同时，近期也有许多关于研发离岸的研究成果，它们与传统理论一起成为本文理论框架形成的基石。但这些理论和研究成果对全面理解跨国公司研发离岸又是不够的，这就为研究者留下了探索和创新的空间。 由于研发离岸是一个较新的提法，目前学界还没有形成对这个概念的统一认识，对该问题的研究也未成体系。为了便于研究的展开，论文在第三章探讨了研发离岸及与之相关的一些概念，并借此来深入认识跨国公司研发离岸的内涵。在文中，研发离岸这个问题被分为控制离岸和离岸外包两种类型加以考虑，这对于后面的研究是非常必要也是非常有帮助的。本章随后分别从外部环境和内部环境的角度分析了跨国公司研发离岸的驱动因素。国际竞争环境的日趋激烈、信息与通信技术的进步、全球服务市场准入障碍的减少和东道国投资环境的改善是研发离岸的主要外部因素。然而，跨国公司研发离岸的最根本动力来自内部，即，削减R&D成本，获取技术信息和研发人才等资源，为海外生产活动提供支持，降低技术开发风险，构建为全球化战略提供技术支撑的R&D网络等。 为了考察跨国公司研发离岸的特征，在文中将跨国公司的母国大致分为四类，它们是美国和欧洲大国、欧洲小国、日本以及发展中国家和地区。正是跨国公司母国的经济与技术实力的差异影响了这些跨国公司研发离岸的方式和规模。总体上跨国公司研发离岸的趋势在增强，但国家间差别较大。从产业角度看，离岸研发活动主要集中在技术密集型产业；而在地理上，跨国公司离岸研发区位高度集中于发达国家，但发展中国家成为越来越重要的离岸研发区位。随着跨国公司离岸研发规模的增加，离岸研发对东道国R&D的作用在增强；跨国公司离岸创新也有所增加。 跨国公司的离岸战略涉及多个问题，例如是否离岸，以何种方式(离岸研发模式)离岸，将研发活动离岸到哪个国家哪个城市，如何设置离岸研发设施的职能，如何管理分散的研发网络等。这些战略决策受各种因素的影响，例如离岸研发模式的选择要根据各种模式本身的特征，结合研发活动的性质、所在行业的技术特征、企业的海外经营经验、企业规模和资源能力，东道国政策等因素来决定。而离岸研发职能的设置与跨国公司离岸研发活动或研发机构的类型有关，并且离岸研发职能可能被强化，也可能被弱化。根据已有的研究成果，跨国公司离岸研发的职能与角色定位被大致划分为四种：创新开发型，辅助制造型、市场应用型、技术监测型。离岸研发的职能不同，选择的区位就不同，与母国研发之间的关系也不同。但是，不管以何种方式组织离岸R&D网络，跨国公司内部设立协调机构和形成恰当的协调机制都是必不可少的。 从第六章(第二部分)开始，论文的研究视角转向中国。跨国公司从20世纪90年代初开始在中国市场从事研发活动，大约经历了探索阶段、扩张阶段和加强阶段。跨国公司在中国的研发活动规模不断扩大，研发组织模式逐渐高级化，在跨国公司与中国合作伙伴之间出现了更平等的关系。市场潜力、需求变化、政策激励、科技人才等是中国吸引跨国公司来华从事研发的最重要的因素，但不同因素对于不同发展阶段的中国或国内不同地区来说，重要性是各异的。此外，跨国公司本身的优势和战略也起到了推动作用。在观察了跨国公司在中国的研发特点和形式后，论文又将中国放在一个区域产业发展的特定环境中——亚太地区信息业研发能力的转移——分析了中国的地位和作用。此外，考虑到印度与中国相似，都是发展中国家中跨国公司离岸研发的重要目的地，本章还通过具体分析美国跨国公司在两国的R&D投资与支出、RDT服务贸易和R&D联盟情况，比较了美国跨国公司在中国与印度的离岸研发活动模式和特点。通过这些案例与比较分析，中国在跨国公司离岸研发网络中的角色越来越清晰。 第三部分的研究重点是分析外资研发对中国创新系统的影响并提出相应的政策建议。为了探讨这个问题，第七章首先回顾了国家创新系统理论的形成与发展，并有针对性地讨论了国家创新系统的开放性以及外资研发与国家创新系统自组织演化的关系。接着，分析了外资研发对中国创新系统的作用机制，并具体讨论了外资研发对中国创新资源获取与配置的影响和外资研发与中国创新主体的互动。论文指出，跨国公司在华研发活动有助于优化中国创新资源的配置，改善创新资源的质量和弥补创新资源的不足。随着外资研发规模和质量的转变以及我国企业在某些技术领域取得优势，跨国公司与中国各类创新主体的互动开始变得更有建设性，这有助于中国创新系统的成熟。在第七章的最后，讨论了几个外资研发带来的负面问题：创新人才的流失、技术逆向扩散和技术控制的加强。这几个问题彼此影响，解决问题的根本在于我国企业和各类组织应努力建设自主创新能力。 全文在系统分析了跨国公司研发离岸现象及其对中国创新系统的影响后，针对如何加强外资研发与中国创新系统的联系并促进后者创新成效的提高提出了相应的政策建议。论文在第八章架构了一个初步的政策体系框架，它至少应该包括三方面的内容：一是鼓励外资企业在中国从事各种形式研发活动的政策；二是加强外资研发与中国创新系统的联系的政策；三是增强中国创新主体技术能力的政策。这三方面的政策各有侧重，但又相互关联，缺一不可。
Along with the further development of economic globalization, multinational corporations (MNCs) in growing numbers transfer their R&D activities abroad. This is what is called R&D offshoring. Unlike the significant expansion of manufacturing and marketing offshoring, R&D offshoring of MNCs is only in its initial stage. By extending its geographical R&D presence, MNCs may obtain inexpensive R&D resources from non-traditional regions and effectively integrate all sorts of knowledge and research resources scattered around the world, thus improving their R&D productivities. At present, the total volume of R&D offshoring is far less than that of overall business R&D globally. R&D offshoring, however, develops distinctively and will maintain such a momentum in the future. Since the 1990s, China has become an important offshore R&D destination for MNCs globally. Especially since the late 1990s, foreign R&D transferred to China has been accelerated. Foreign companies now have contributed one fourth of Independent Innovation Activities of large-and-medium scale enterprises in mainland China. This situation certainly will impact China"s Innovation System (CIS). This paper tries to deeply and thoroughly study the phenomenon of MNCs" R&D offshoring and the potential impact of foreign R&D on CIS for the purpose of laying a theoretical and practical foundation for Chinese government to formulate national technology innovation and management policies. In addition to the Introduction and Conclusion sections, this paper is composed of three parts. The first part, including Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, undertakes the theoretical and positive analyses on R&D offshoring. With that, there is a transition part, Chapter 6, in which China"s role and its position in MNCs" offshored R&D network is discussed. In the third part (i.e., Chapter 7 and Chapter 8), the author analyzes the relations between foreign R&D and CIS, and puts forward relevant suggestions for Chinese policymakers. At the very beginning of Chapter 2, theories and research findings on R&D offshoring are reviewed and sorted. Traditional theories, such as International Investment Theory, Multinational Corporation Theory, Competitive Advantage Theory and Transaction Cost Theory, may partly explain the phenomenon of R&D offshoring. Some recent research findings, which relate to R&D offshoring, together with the above-mentioned traditional theories, help to form a theoretical framework for this research work. These theories and research findings, however, are not enough for people to thoroughly comprehend the phenomenon, thus leaving much room for the researcher to explore. As a matter of fact, there is not a generally accepted definition of R&D offshoring in the academic circle. Furthermore, it is not systematically studied by researchers in related fields. For the convenience of this research, the related concepts of R&D offshoring are examined in Chapter 3, through which we may understand the concept further. In this research, the researcher classifies R&D offshoring into two categories: captive offshoring and offshore outsourcing. The classification proves to be necessary and helpful for the subsequent research. R&D offshoring activities of a MNC are determined by multiple factors. In this paper, the drivers of R&D offshoring are introduced from the perspective of external and internal environments respectively. The major external drivers include more intensive international competition, advancement of information and communication technology (ICT), lower entrance barriers for the global service market, amelioration of investment environment of host countries and so on. Nevertheless, the fundamental driving forces of R&D offshoring come from the multinationals themselves, which consist of reduction of R&D cost, acquirement of R&D resources (e.g., technology and professionals), support for overseas manufacturing, avoidance of technology research risk, establishment of R&D network that technologically sustains a multinational"s global strategy etc. For the purpose of observing characteristics of R&D offshoring, parent countries of MNCs are divided into four types in this research: (1) the U. S. and the large European countries, (2) the small European countries, (3) Japan, and (4) the developing countries and regions. It is the parent countries" differences in economic and technological strength that influence the patterns and scales of MNCs" R&D offshoring. As a whole, we see a growing trend of R&D offshoring, though varied among countries. Offshored R&D mainly focuses on technology-intensive industries and is geographically concentrated in developed regions. However, developing regions become more and more important destinations for MNCs" R&D. Along with the growing trend of R&D offshoring, foreign R&D increasingly plays vital role on the host countries" R&D and MNCs" offshored innovation increases. R&D offshoring strategy of a firm involves a variety of issues, such as whether to offshore, what pattern to follow, where to conduct offshored R&D activities, how to allocate the functions among offshored R&D facilities, and how to manage scattered R&D activities. These strategic decisions are influenced by numerous elements. For instance, in order to choose the R&D offshoring pattern, a firm should, on the basis of the characteristics of offshoring patterns, take into account the nature of offshored R&D activities, the technology features of the industry the firm belongs to, the firm"s overseas operation experiences, the firm"s size and resources, and the policies of host countries etc. When it comes to allocation of overseas R&D functions, the types of offshored R&D activities or R&D facilities play a key role. Moreover, overseas R&D functions may be reinforced or weakened depending on the circumstance. According to the existing research findings, the functions and positions of offshored R&D fall into four types: (1) innovative development, (2) production support, (3) market application and (4) technology tracking. When it"s functioned differently, offshored R&D may locate differently and link with parent R&D in a different manner. One thing is important: no matter how to organize offshored R&D network, it is indispensable for a firm to set up internal coordinating body and form an appropriate coordinating mechanism. In Chapter 6, the focus of this study turns to China"s role in MNCs" R&D offshoring. Since early 1990s when MNCs started R&D activities in China"s market, there have been distinct three stages: exploration, expansion and reinforcement. The R&D volume of the MNCs in China expands by degrees. The R&D organization model gradually upgrades. A more equal relationship comes forth between the MNCs and their Chinese partners. The important factors attracting foreign firms transfer R&D to China are its market potential, increased demand, competitive policies and technology talents. However, the significance of these factors varies when we consider different development phases or different regions of China. Besides, MNCs" strengths and strategies give an impetus to R&D offshoring as well. With the analysis of the characteristics and forms of foreign R&D in China, the author analyzes China"s role in a context of regional industry development -transfer of R&D capacity of ICT industry within Asia-Pacific region. In addition to this, because India, similar to China in many areas, also a major offshore R&D destination, it is helpful to compare the patterns and focuses of MNCs" R&D activities in China and India by way of analyzing the R&D expenditures, RDT service trade volumes and R&D alliances of the U. S. Multinationals in/with both two countries. By doing so, China"s role in MNCs" offshore R&D network becomes more and more clear. The research in Part Three focuses onto the impact of foreign R&D on CIS and puts forwards corresponding suggestions for the policymakers in China. In order to fulfill this aim, the evolution of National Innovation System (NIS) Theory is reviewed at the beginning of Chapter 7. Then, the author goes further, discussing the openness of NIS and the relationship between foreign R&D and self-organizing evolution of NIS; thus laying a sound foundation for subsequent analysis of relevant problems. Then, the impact of foreign R&D on CIS and its mechanism is observed in this research. After that, the impact of foreign R&D on the acquirement of China"s innovation resources and the interaction between foreign companies and China"s Innovation Players are analyzed one by one. It is obvious that foreign R&D may help China optimize allocation of innovation resources, improve the quality of innovation resources and make up the insufficiency of innovation resources. At present, with the quantitative and qualitative change of foreign R&D and the establishment of competitive advantageous of Chinese enterprises in some technology fields, the interaction between foreign companies and China"s Innovation Players becomes more beneficial than before, which contribute to the advancement of China"s NIS. At the end of Chapter 7, three negative effects of foreign R&D are underlined: brain drain, reverse diffusion of technology and technology control. These problems are interrelated and interacted. The most important thing for an economically developing host country like China is to manage to build up its independent innovation capacity. On the basis of thorough analysis of MNCs" R&D offshoring and its impact on CIS, relevant suggestions for policymakers on how to strengthen foreign R&D"s linkage with CIS and improve the performance of CIS are put forward in Chapter 8. A preliminary policy framework is formed. It should, at least, contain the policies in three aspects: encouraging various foreign R&D in China, strengthening foreign R&D"s linkage with CIS, and enhancing technological capacity of China"s Innovation Players. The policies in these three aspects emphasize different things. However, they connect each other and cannot act effectively without others.
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