Title: A study of the effect of corporate diversification strategy on technological innovation and strength in technology-oriented multinational corporations across countries

Authors: Jooh Lee; Niranjan Pati

Addresses: Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Rohrer College of Business, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, 08028, USA ' Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Rohrer College of Business, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, 08028, USA

Abstract: This study attempts to empirically explore the strategic impact of corporate diversification on technological innovation and strength measured by investments in research and development (R&D), and number of patents in high-tech industries across several industrialised countries. The major findings of this study demonstrate that corporate diversification strategies in markets and products are significantly related to various indices of technological innovations and economic performance in technology oriented multinational corporations across different countries and industry sectors. One of the significant findings of this study is that diversification strategies can influence a firm's technological capabilities by enhancing the intensity of R&D investments and increasing the number of patents. This study is intends to provide academicians as well as practitioners with more insightful explanation of strategic determinants of technological innovations and strengths in leading technology-oriented multinational corporations (TMCs).

Keywords: technological innovation; technological strength; research and development; R&D investment; corporate diversification; patents; technology-oriented MNCs; multinational corporations; TMCs; multinationals; diversification strategy; cross-country comparison; high-tech industries; high technology; economic performance; firm performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2017.083262

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2017 Vol.13 No.1, pp.1 - 29

Received: 18 Feb 2015
Accepted: 05 Mar 2015
Published online: 23 Mar 2017 *

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