ABSTRACT
The Brazilian subsidiaries of MNCs conduct R&D, but much of their R&D is focused on adapting and developing products and technologies to the local market and in some cases to the regional markets in Latin America. In a study of the telecommunications sector, Galina and Bortoloti (2004) concluded that there was no substantial involvement of Brazilian subsidiaries of MNCs in global product development (GPD). Both bibliometric and patent data suggested limited involvement of Brazilian subsidiaries in GPD in the telecom field. But the case studies of foreign subsidiaries in Brazil, presented by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT 2000), show the presence of R&D relating to local product development as well as partnerships with national universities and research centers. These case studies also showed that the subsidiaries are more involved with local or regional adaptation of products already created elsewhere than with global product development. Other studies (e.g., Galina and Plonski 2002), however, show that Brazilian subsidiaries of MNCs are certainly involved in GPD at least in some specific product or technology niches.
