Determinants of initiative survival in multinational companies
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2008-06-30
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper examines why subsidiary initiatives differ with respect to their probability of survival and identifies initiative-related factors which cause this difference. We thus intends to answer the research question: What determines the probability of survival of an initiative sent by a foreign R&D subsidiary? We develop six hypotheses which describe initiative characteristics upon which the survival or failure of a subsidiary initiative may depend. We then test these hypotheses using a sample of 1,116 subsidiary initiatives we collected from the global R&D organisation of a Swiss MNC.
We extracted these initiative data directly from the firm's initiative database. This research setting allowed us to collect unprecedented data on subsidiary initiatives. The findings show that initiative survival is positively influenced by social and geographical closeness of the sending R&D subsidiary to headquarters, by the initiative's alignment with the firm's core areas of activity, and by the manager's past success record, i.e. the number of already recognised initiatives sent by that manager. Moreover, initiatives that propose exploitative innovation are more likely to survive than initiatives that propose exploratory innovation. However, inter-subsidiary collaboration is found to have no significant influence on initiative survival.
We extracted these initiative data directly from the firm's initiative database. This research setting allowed us to collect unprecedented data on subsidiary initiatives. The findings show that initiative survival is positively influenced by social and geographical closeness of the sending R&D subsidiary to headquarters, by the initiative's alignment with the firm's core areas of activity, and by the manager's past success record, i.e. the number of already recognised initiatives sent by that manager. Moreover, initiatives that propose exploitative innovation are more likely to survive than initiatives that propose exploratory innovation. However, inter-subsidiary collaboration is found to have no significant influence on initiative survival.
Funding(s)
Subsidiary Initiatives in International Research and Development: A Survival Analysis
Language
English
Keywords
Intraorganisational ecology
strategic initiative
subsidiary initiative
R&D
MNC
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Book title
Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of the Academy of International Business
Publisher
Academy of International Business
Publisher place
East Lansing, USA
Start page
183
Event Title
50th Academy of International Business (AIB)
Event Location
Milan
Event Date
30.06.-03.07.2008
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
46773