The influence of TMT social capital on R&D subsidiary roles: a network approach

Abstract

Increasing attention has been paid to the globalization of research and development (R&D) by multinational corporations (MNCs), especially on how the subsidiaries manage their networks to perform a specific strategic R&D role. This study focusses on analyzing the relationship of social capital (SC) developed by subsidiaries' top management team (TMT) in the context of internal multinational network and the external business network, in order to examine its influence on the subsidiary's strategic role (exploitative and creative). Due to the necessity to go down on the micro-level to examine the affectation of the structural background of the main actors in charge of the strategic role, a dynamic approach was presented focusing both on pre-existing structures (or ‘networks’) and on the individual experiences of competent (knowledgeable social actors). SC was divided into internal (bonding) and external (bridging) in order to get analyze the functions of integrating and brokering collective knowledge. This study goes beyond the usual analysis of a macro-organizational perspective, incorporating itself to the microfoundation ‘movement’. Using a macro-micro perspective, propositions were developed and they were presented jointly with an explorative model to evaluate the effect of the SC and networks embeddedness on the subsidiary strategic role. This study makes a distinct theoretical contribution to the subsidiary R&D role theory and network theory.