Richard J. Martinez

The Production, Transfer and Spillover of Technology: Comparing Large and Small Multinationals as Technology Producers

Multinational enterprises are, sina qua non, the worlds technology producers. In this paper, we explore the concept of technology production by multinationals, focusing on three aspects: (i) technology as a firm-specific advantage, (ii) the costs of technology transfer, and (iii) technology spillovers. In each case, we outline current views and debates in the field about the role played by large multinationals in technology production. Finally, we compare MNEs with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as technology producers. We conclude that SMEs face certain constraints, due to small size and inadequate financing, that raise their costs of technology production and transfer, relative to the costs for MNEs. On the other hand, their flexibility and use of unconventional methods can create successful mini-nationals in niche markets.

Efficiency Motives and Normative Forces: Combining Transactions Costs and Institutional Logic

This paper provides a synthesis of transaction cost economics and institutional theory. It reviews each of these approaches and provides suggestions on how these perspectives might be broadened via this synthesis. It presents an illustrative model of organization theorizing that combines relevant aspects of transaction cost theory and institutional theory in order to strengthen the explanatory power of both. The model explores conditions under which one or both theories may be most appropriate in explaining decision behavior, focusing on two important situational factors--the degree of ambiguity surrounding transaction cost analyses and the organization’s temporal survival orientation.