The crucial actors of a global knowledge-based economy are multinational enterprises (MNEs). MNEs depend on the embeddedness in an institutional framework; their competitive advantage depends on the cross-border utilisation of regional and national capabilities. The innovativeness of a company is therefore based also on regional innovation systems. Multinational Enterprises and Innovation contributes to a better understanding of the interconnectedness between organisational and regional learning. On the basis of case studies in Germany and France, this volume investigates how MNEs cope with technical, economic and institutional uncertainties by drawing upon the complementary strengths of organisational and regional networks in national and European contexts. The book links two theoretical debates which are currently still largely disconnected -- the debate on learning processes in MNEs and the debate on the regional bases of innovativeness and competitiveness -- answering the question of how the internationalisation of R&D is reconciled with regional competences.

The crucial actors of a global knowledge-based economy are multinational enterprises (MNE). At the same time, the competences in the country and even in the region where the headquarters are located still play a crucial role for the localisation of R&D. MNEs depend on the embeddedness in an institutional framework, since their competitive advantage in the world-wide competition depends crucially on the cross-border utilisation of regional and national capabilities. Complementary to transnational networks, the innovativeness of a company is therefore based also on regional innovation systems. Multinational Enterprises and Innovation contributes to a better understanding of the interconnectedness between organisational and regional learning. On the basis of case studies in Germany and France, we investigate how MNEs cope with technical, economic and institutional uncertainties by drawing upon the complementary strengths of organisational and regional networks in national and European contexts. Thus, the book links two theoretical debates which are currently still largely unconnected -- the debate on learning processes in MNEs and the debate on the regional bases of innovativeness and competitiveness. In this way, we try to answer the question how the observed internationalisation of R&D is reconciled with the crucial role of domestic locations and regional competences.

Die Autorin zeigt an Fallstudien aus drei franzoesischen Regionen, wie verschiedene Unternehmen und Forschungseinrichtungen im Rahmen von politisch gefoerderten Innovationsnetzwerken miteinander kooperieren, welche Lernprozesse dabei in Gang kommen und welche Bedeutung raumliche Nahe fur das Zustandekommen und den Verlauf der F&E-Kooperationen hat. Durch eine umfassende, systemische Betrachtungsweise tragt die Untersuchung zu einem tiefergehenden Verstandnis von Innovationsprozessen bei und gibt zugleich Aufschluss uber das franzoesische Innovationssystem.