Abstract

Traditionally, most of previous studies on international R&D are not only conducted in advanced countries but also carried on with companies headquartered in developed economies. This paper presents an analysis of the R&D internationalization of Brazilian Multinational Companies (BMNCs) in terms of the major driving forces to globalize R&D and coordination of international R&D activities. This research was based on a multiple case study with seven BMNCs, which was leaded by a framework with specific issues on international R&D (driving forces, roles of subsidiaries, R&D management). We found out that BMNCs have internationalized its product development encouraged by both market-driven and technology-driven factors. Our conclusion is that, when compared to companies from developed countries (literature), BMNCs perform internationalization of R&D activities with very similar characteristics. These finds are additional evidences to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the internationalization of companies from developing countries.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.