ABSTRACT
In recent years, MNCs have been conducting strategic innovation activities in emerging economies. Although, in the past, there were cases of MNCs conducting R&D in developing countries, such innovation was mainly related to adaptation of products and processes to the local conditions and/ or at most product development for local markets (i.e., variants based on the parent’s technology). It is only since the mid-1980s that MNCs have started carrying out strategic innovation, such as those relating to developing products for global markets or mission-oriented basic research for long-term corporate use in emerging economies, although the scale of such operations is still small. Mainly only the MNCs dealing with new science-based technologies (e.g., ICT, biotechnology and so forth.) have started locating strategic innovation activities in emerging economies.
