The Study On The Mechanism Of Functional Evolution Of MNCs-owned R&D Institution In China

MNCs' R&D Globalization and R&D activities of MNCs in China are newly international economic phenomena. Since 1980's, MNCs have changed traditional ethnocentric arrangement by restructuring R&D organization, resulting in that MNCs' R&D activities are moving towards the direction of globalization and cyberization. Since 1990's, developing countries, especially China are becoming new emerging markets of developed countries' R&D investment with decentralized trend of geographic distribution of MNCs' international R&D investment. But because of more than ten years when MNCs have established R&D institutions in China, China has done little research about many promblems. Now it is an elementary stage for accumulation of data and case study. Many problems need to be studied comprehensively such as main function taken by MNCs-owned R&D institution in China, R&D character, their status in the global R&D network and their functional change compared with original function. If there is a functional change of R&D institution, its dynamical mechanism and effect on the regional development will be explored. Therefore, it is of great importance in both theory and practice to analyze inner mechanism and understand evolutive law and trend of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China.The dissertation consists of 8 chapters.Chapter One: Introduction. Firstly, the objective and basis for the selection of the theme will be demonstrated from the perspective of practice and learning. Because geography of the corporation emphasizes a research means about large corporation, 90 MNCs of Fortune Global 500 are regarded as the research objects of my dissertation to explore the functional evolution how overseas R&D institutions change their status in the corporate network under the host country environment. In fact, the 90 MNCs set up 215 R&D institutions in China. Lastly, the author presents the structure and methodology of the current study and research.Chapter Two: Review of relevant theory. The dissertation describes MNCs growth theory, labor division theory, structural contingency theory and network organization theory. Lastly, the chapter reviews the research on subsidiary strategic role evolution of Multinationals.Chapter Three: Analytical framework of functional evolution of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China. To begin with, based on the review of functional characteristics of MNC R&D investment abroad, it is to confirm functional type of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China. Then, it is to discuss the meaning of functional evolution of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China, by using for reference the concept and viewpoint of evolution theory such as cladogenesis, anagenesis, macro-evolution and micro-evolution. Cladogenesis and anagenesis as two clues run through the whole dissertation. The perspective of time and space of theory of evolution offers one new kind of analytical framework and research notion.Chapter Four: Functional evolution of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China: development process and current characters. By the compare of current function and initial function of all research samples, concrete forms of functional evolution are elementarily affirmed. Then, it sums up content, characteristics and cause of functional evolution of MNCs-owned R&D institutions in China on the basis of cladogenesis and anagenesis. And for example of Microsoft Corporation, the study which combines cladogenesis with anagenesis is carried on according to 'tree of evolution' of the theory of evolution. Lastly, it evaluates the effect of functional evolution of MNCs-owned R&D institutions in China.Chapter Five: Scale increase and spatial expansion of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China. It goes to great lengths to prove the point about spatial characteristic of functional evolution of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China, in order to make clear location change of increase of scale, characteristics of regional labor division of cladogenesis, geographical relationship between/among several R&D institutions, spatial expansion model based on R&D organization decentralization and corporate spatial relations of company space of R&D institutions.Chapter Six: Mechanism of functional evolution of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China. It is a theoretic sum-up and development to above empirical part of the dissertation. Firstly, it discusses mainly factors of functional evolution affected by three kinds of mechanism of MNC parent company, environment of host country and R&D institutions itself. Secondly, it explores the interaction of the three kinds of mechanism from the perspective of network location based on the network organization theory, aiming to analyze inner drive abroad R&D institutions of MNCs.Chapter Seven: Functional evolution of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China and regional development. Above interpretations are simply focused on regional changes of corporate organization and spatial pattern of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China. Whole effect caused by these R&D institutions in the region has been ignored. Then, this chapter makes an empirical test on regional difference of R&D spillover and functional evolution of MNCs-owned R&D institution in China by constructing mathematic model of R&D spillover effect according to two examples of Jiangsu Province and Shanghai Municipality.Chapter Eight: Conclusion and Prospect. On the basis of achievement of the dissertation, a further study and its limits will be pointed out.