Investing in Localized Relationships with Universities: What are the Benefits for R&D Subsidiaries of Multinational Enterprises?

What is it about?

In what way are opportunities to interact with high-quality universities on a local basis important to multinationational enterprises (MNEs)? Are such opportunities important enough to attract MNEs to set up new R&D establishments? In a qualitative investigation of three leading European research universities, we find MNE investments driven by interaction opportunities only in one of them (U Cambridge, UK).

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Why is it important?

The paper illustrates how difficult it is for a region to compete for globally mobile investments in advanced research by offering opportunities for localised university-industry interaction. With all their excellent reputation and a history of maintaining collaborative linkages to regionally active MNEs, Karolinska institutet (SE) and ETH Zürich (CH) did not seem to (as of 2008) be attractive enough to attract substantial research funding into their respective regions.