Multinational strategies, local human capital, and global innovation networks in the automotive industry: case studies from Germany and South Africa: Jo Lorentzen and Michael Gastrow

This paper focuses on the relationship between strategies of Northern and Southern firms, mostly multinational enterprises (MNEs), and human capital in Southern host countries in the automotive supply industry and the implications of this relationship both for the management of technological change and for the constitution of global innovation networks (GINs). We define GINs as global networks in which some knowledge-intensive activities are based in developing countries. They differ qualitatively from the better-known global production networks (GPNs) where Northern MNEs traditionally control the key technological assets while outsourcing the supply of parts and components or assembly to contract manufacturers. In particular, we use firm-level case studies to explore the micro-determinants affecting the evolution of GINs (which can evolve and be nested within GPNs).