J. Eng. Technol. Manage.

22 (2005) 255–273
www.elsevier.com/locate/jengtecman

Innovation strategies of Asian firms in the

United States
Jessie P.H. Poon *, Alan MacPherson
Canada-US Trade Center, 105 Wilkeson Quad, University at Buffalo-SUNY,
Buffalo, NY 14261, USA

Available online 9 November 2005

Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between Asian firms’ technological and non-technological
strategies and innovation capability. Particular attention is focused on subsidiaries in the United States
(US) with headquarter units in South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. Empirical evidence from a sample of
151 subsidiary plants and establishments suggests that Asian firms invest in the US to upgrade their their
knowledge base with a view to supporting new product and market-based innovations. The results of an
ordered probit regression model of innovation performance suggests that new product development and
marketing capability make a significant contribution to increased US patents among Asian firms while
applied research is only marginally significant in explaining firms’ innovation capability. The major sources
of innovation capability are revolved around a tacit understanding of technology and products than more
explicit forms of knowledge. Our empirical findings also suggest that stronger business performance is
associated with new product development and marketing capability.
# 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

JEL classification: 031; 033; N65; L6

Keywords: Asian latecomers; Technology sourcing; Applied research; Marketing capability

1. Introduction

A considerable body of research exists that attempts to explain the remarkable speed and level
of technology development among firms from industrializing countries in Asia (Hobday, 1995;
Mathews and Cho, 2000; Choung et al., 2000). Until the 1980s, the technological base of Asian
firms from South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore has largely depended on transferred or borrowed

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 716 645 2722; fax: +1 716 645 2329.
E-mail addresses: Jesspoon@buffalo.edu (Jessie P.H. Poon), geoadm@buffalo.edu (A. MacPherson).

0923-4748/$ – see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jengtecman.2005.09.001
256 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273

technology from foreign firms. More recently, however, there has been a shift in strategy among
Asian firms toward a more knowledge resource-based model that allows them to acquire and
apply knowledge and technology for advantageous rent-generation. This paper examines the
innovation strategies driving Asian firms’ investment in the United States (US)-based on the
resource-based model of knowledge. Specifically, we show that Asian firms’ competitive
advantage revolves around their ability to capture rents through a series of technological and
marketing capabilities that collectively constitute the firms’ knowledge resource base.
Because Asian firms are late adopters of technology internationally, the sample of firms
examined here tends to undertake incremental to moderate innovations than radical innovations.
Furthermore, the firms’ incremental to moderate innovations are largely centered on market
opportunities that allow them to differentiate their products and applications from their
competitors. Bearing this in mind, the major research questions undertaken here will focus on
identifying Asian firms’ strategic capabilities in innovation, the sources of their innovation
capability, and, the relationship between the firms’ innovation capability and business performance.
In the next section, we first discuss the knowledge resource-based theory and its relevance
for conceptualizing the innovation strategies of Asian firms in the US. This theory is
particularly pertinent since it directly links innovation capability to firm performance and
thereby sustained competitive advantage. Next, innovation capability is examined in terms of
the sources of knowledge acquisition. A series of hypotheses are built around the strategies as
well as sources that shape innovation capability. This is followed by a series of models that are
constructed to test these hypotheses including ordered probit and loglinear models. The results
and findings are elaborated next, and the paper is concluded with a discussion of research
implications.

2. Literature review and research hypotheses

2.1. Knowledge-based resource theory

The knowledge resource-based theory of the firm (Grant, 1996; Spender, 1996) has its
inception in the resource-based theory of the firm, the latter of which posits that a firm’s
competitive advantage depends on its ability to accumulate and deploy assets (tangible and non-
tangible) such that the resource yields high returns over long periods of time (Wernerfelt, 1984;
Barney, 1991). The knowledge resource-based view is distinguished from the resource-based
view through its emphasis on knowledge as a strategic factor of production over more traditional
factors, such as land, labor or capital. A fundamental tenet of the theory is that firms are
inherently heterogenous because they possess distinctive knowledge competencies. Through
resource selection and accumulation, firms exploit market imperfections in knowledge, thereby
creating asymmetry in information, which in turn creates knowledge-based transaction costs.
Firms that possess the capability to create, supply and commercialize knowledge resources face
lower transaction costs while building barriers to the acquisition or imitation of key knowledge
inputs at the same time. Firm heterogeneity arises from the contextually sticky nature of
knowledge which enhances firm-specific advantages (Dröge et al., 2003). By focusing on the
nature and characteristics of knowledge resources which underscore firm heterogeneity, the
theory directly links a firm’s strategy to its performance.
The usefulness of applying the knowledge resource-based theory to Asian firms’ innovation
strategies in the US may be described as follows. Since knowledge resource heterogeneity is
central to competitive advantage, a firm that builds its strategy around a resource or capability not
 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273 257

possessed currently by other firms (e.g. competitors) is more likely to create sustained
competitive advantage. Asian firms are late internationalizers and possess considerable
technological deficits compared to their western or even Japanese counterparts. To correct this
deficit, accumulating innovation capabilities that contributes to distinctive knowledge
competencies involves focusing on a specific set of strategies that reflect and add to their
knowledge resource strength. These strategies are centered on incremental to moderate than
radical innovations, and with applied research than basic scientific research. Such a strategy is
distinguished from that of early internationalizers (e.g. European firms) in say the biotechnology
industry. Here, Shan and Song (1997) have shown that inward foreign direct investment in the US
is associated with the unequivocal leadership of the US in biotechnology innovations and a major
motivation for location of foreign facilities in the US lies in the sourcing of scientific knowledge
in the industry.
Our aforementioned proposition follows from the nature of knowledge itself. In
Nightingale’s (1998), cognitive model of knowledge, technology is seen as an artificial
function which involves adapting means to reach a preconceived end. For example developing
wireless technology in cellular phones to enable conversations between two spatially separated
and mobile individuals. Applied research is usually tied to solving technological problems and
opportunities and revolves around a design or blueprint and that carry lower levels of
uncertainty. On the other hand, basic science and research is distinguished from applied
research in that there is a level of abstraction involved that is not readily compressed into
information and solutions. While the goal of scientific research is to establish cause and effect,
to explain, determine and predict, it is not always possible for applied research on technology
to extrapolate scientific patterns into the future. Nightingale (1998) observes that this is due to
the fact that scientific knowledge and therefore basic scientific research involves forming an
abstract correspondence between tacit understanding, patterns in nature and mathematical
patterns. Hence, while applied knowledge and technology might make it is easier to develop a
fuel-efficient car, it is more difficult to disentangle and acquire knowledge on fuel cell
research. Furthermore, basic research is also more uncertain and demands longer development
times with no guarantee of market returns. Given the recency of Asian firms’ entry to the
industry of innovations, and their lack of a first mover advantage in basic scientific research
compared to European, American or even Japanese firms, they are more likely to develop
knowledge resources based on the ‘know-what’ and ‘know-how’ than the ‘know-why’ of
technology.
The importance of applied research and knowledge, not just the acquisition of knowledge
further implies that innovations are largely directed towards the creation of market value in the
marketplace (Demarest, 1997; Claycomb et al., 2002). That is to say, knowledge gains value
only when it may be deployed to exploit market opportunities. This leads to the following
hypothesis:
H1a. Applied research is positively related to Asian firms’ innovation capability.
As late entrants to innovations, Asian firms are able to equip themselves with the latest
technical knowledge competence and to set new industry standards and performance. Such
‘‘free rider’’ advantages allow firms to benefit from information spillovers as a consequence of
locating and operating in technology-rich environments such as those found in the U.S, while
avoiding high R&D costs as well as the costs of educating customers about the product (Cho
et al., 1998). However, positive imitation requires some level of technology capacity. Most
successful imitations are characterized by relatively high levels of technological competence
258 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273

that potentially turn the firm into an innovator (Schewe, 1998), or to use Rothwell and
Gardiner’s (1988) description, ‘‘reinnovators’’. As a reinnovator, the imitator needs to
transform the firm’s technology and production capacity into products that may be
distinguished from its competitors whether in terms of cost, design or performance. Imitators-
turned-innovators do not simply reconstruct a technology or product but improve upon,
modify or transform existing ones. To do so, the innovating firm must also develop
considerable marketing capability that identifies market niches or new markets. Hence,
innovations involve not only technological but non-technological activities such as marketing
capability as well.
The gathering of market information includes not only matching the product to customer or
user needs, but also sourcing for relevant technologies, and, differentiating its technology or
product from its competitors. Salomo et al. (2003) have pointed out that market, as opposed to
customer, orientation must include this latter element of competition. In other words, learning
from the market is a chief source of innovations and the knowledge resource-based theory
suggests that marketing capability contributes to a firm’s knowledge capability by ensuring a
high probability of commercial success of the products (Weerawardena, 2003). Hence we
hypothesize that marketing capability will also be positively related to Asian firms’ innovation
capability.
H1b. Marketing capability is positively related to Asian firms’ innovation capability.
As reinnovators, we expect that Asian firms are largely engaged in incremental to
moderate innovations and product development than radical innovations. Garcia and
Calantone (2002) have provided useful definitions of radical, moderate and incremental
innovations. An incremental innovation is typically associated with more mature markets and
with improving an existing product or design, or, in extending a product’s life. Any
discontinuity introduced is often confined to the customer or firm level. Moderate
innovations, on the other hand, will result in market or technological discontinuities at the
level of the industry or world market. Finally, radical innovations tend to introduce products
or technologies that cause both market and technological discontinuities at the industry and
world market levels. Using their definition, Asian firms are rarely involved in radical
innovations as might be illustrated by the impact of say the worldwide web on world markets
and industrial transformation. Rather, their level of innovativeness is confined to more
moderate or incremental forms.1
Engaging in incremental and moderate innovations reinforce previous arguments that Asian
firms are more focused on market opportunities than in basic research generation. As will be seen
below, this has resulted in a higher number of Asian firms reporting relatively successful
introductions of new products to the US market than US patents. The difference between the two
lies in the degree of technological input to the development of new products with firms reporting
longer development times, greater uncertainties associated with commercializing patents, and
higher R&D intensities in securing US patents. Securing US patents also requires spending
substantial resources in preempting competitors from patenting the product first. Indeed, one
difficulty confronting firms that engage in research to secure US patents is that they can find

1
For example, technology on scanners first originated from the Japanese, but it was the Taiwanese firms that improved
upon the technology and then successfully commercialized and dominated the scanner industry in the 1990s (pesonal
interview with a Taiwanese firm that manufactures scanners, 2003).
 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273 259

themselves in a situation where another firm has patented the product first. This leads to the final
sub-hypothesis, that is:
H1c. New product development is positively related to Asian firms’ innovation capability.
The knowledge resource-based theory directly links a firm’s resource capability to its
performance, hence specific knowledge forms and thereby innovative capability are expected to
have a positive effect on firm performance. This positive relationship stems from the reasoning
that knowledge is and innovations are a strategic resource that enables the firm to establish a
position of competitive advantage through superior returns.
However, empirical evidence on the aforementioned relationship is mixed with Teece (1996)
finding no relationship between innovations and market share, and Dröge et al. (2003) finding a
positive relationship between applied knowledge and financial performance. Despite the mixed
evidence but consistent with the knowledge resource-based theory, we expect that knowledge
resource selection among Asian firms through strategies of applied research, marketing
capability and new product development are likely to have a positive effect on firm
performance.
H2a. Applied research is positively related to firm performance.
H2b. Marketing capability is positively related to firm performance.
H2c. New product development is positively related to firm performance.

2.2. Sources of knowledge

Since the seminal works of Polanyi (1967) and Nelson and Winter (1982) suggesting that
knowledge may be tacit or more explicit and codified, the nature of knowledge has been
extensively analyzed and its complexity documented (Spender, 1996; Grant, 1996; Kogut and
Zander, 1993; Nonaka, 1991; Teece, 1977). Despite the increasingly sophisticated
conceptualization of knowledge forms, we have found the original formulation of tacit and
codified knowledge useful for operationalizing our research framework.
While it has become accepted that tacit and codified knowledge are not mutually exclusive but
may be expressed along a continuum, the cognitive dimension of tacit knowledge as elaborated
by Nightingale (1998) indicates that the ‘meaning’ of scientific and technical information can
only be understood by a group of practitioners and researchers who are well-versed in the subject
or familiar with the language that describes the information. For this reason, tacit knowledge does
not only consist of embodied knowledge but is also embedded in social networks. Social
knowledge contains higher tacit content because its major mechanism of transfer is rooted in
individuals, groups or organizations. Geographical proximity and interpersonal interaction help
facilitate its transmission (Edmonson et al., 2003). On the other hand, explicit knowledge is more
codifiable in the form of manuals (e.g. suppliers’ manuals), publications (e.g. scientific or
technical journals) or hardware. This is because codified forms of knowledge are organized
around procedures, properties, facts or axiomatic propositions, and are more readily transferable,
taught and imitated.
The nature and makeup of innovation-based and scientific knowledge indicates that the major
sources of tacit knowledge for Asian firms in the US are likely to be harnessed from skilled or
knowledgeable individuals, such as personnel involved in R&D, engineering consultants, and
customers or users who have considerable knowledge accumulated from their technological,
260 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273

product or/and market experiences. On the other hand, the principle sources of codified
knowledge may be found in published sources or reverse engineering of existing products and
prototypes. There is reason to expect that Asian firms are more inclined to acquire tacit
knowledge than codified knowledge that allow them to augment their technological capabilities
as this potentially enables them to realize reinnovations through the internalization of more
complex technological knowledge.

H3a. Tacit knowledge has a more positive effect on applied research than codified knowledge.
H3b. Tacit knowledge has a more positive effect on marketing capability than codified
knowledge.
H3c. Tacit knowledge has a more positive effect on new product development than codified
knowledge.
Finally, the sources of knowledge and thereby innovation capability are examined in terms
of the age of the firms. Edmonson et al. (2003) have shown that late adopters to the same
technology that relies on codified knowledge tend to perform better because they are able to
learn from early adopters. Extant literature and earlier discussion indicate that new product
development is intimately related to market knowledge competence (Li and Cavusgil, 1998).
Older firms and early entrants to the US have a market lead advantage because they have time
to establish product legitimacy among their customers and to gather market information
about their products. Knowledge transfers between producers and customers are relatively
well-established in the literature (Wikstrom, 1996; Cummings and Teng, 2003; Ritter and
Walter, 2003; Salomo et al., 2003). Older firms are expected to use their embedded customer
networks to create information asymmetries that allow them to exploit first mover advantages
or to erect barriers against their competitors. Younger firms, on the other hand, suffer from
the liability of newness (Stinchcombe, 1965) and are more inclined to resort to more imitative
and codified forms of knowledge than tacit knowledge for new product development. The
effect of age on sources of knowledge acquisition is examined in the context of the following
hypotheses.

H4a. Tacit knowledge has a positive effect on older firms’ innovation capability.
H4b. Codified knowledge has a positive effect on younger firms’ innovation capability.
The research framework presented above is summarized in Fig. 1.

3. Research design, constructs, and model

3.1. Telephone survey

To gather relevant data for this study, we surveyed manufacturing firms in the US with national
origins in Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore. To identify the population, multiple sources were
consulted:

1. Singapore: Databases from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (formerly,
National Science and Technology Board), IE Enterprise (formerly Trade and Development
Board), and newspaper archives from the country’s leading newspapers, the Business Times
and the Straits Times.
 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273 261

Fig. 1. Research framework. Note: See Appendix A for details of the variables.

2. South Korea: Firm directories from the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the US
and the Korean Bank of Investment.
3. Taiwan: Firm directories from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York
which lists Taiwanese companies in the US, and Taiwan’s Ministry of Commerce and
Economics.

The above was supplemented with Chinese Business in America (2002–2003) published by
Caravel Inc. This directory, however, includes firms from PRC China as well as Asian American
companies. The websites of all Chinese firms were examined to identify only those with national
origins from Singapore and Taiwan. Besides investigating each firm’s website to determine the
firm’s national origin and suitability for our study, telephone calls were also made to ensure
consistency in the population. Other firms that did not fit included parent companies in the US
that were established by Asians who may or may not have investment in the three countries. This
group of businesses represents startups or investment from individuals from the three countries
who have either completed their education in the US and/or worked in US companies for a few
years before establishing their own companies. However, not all US headquartered Asian
companies were excluded from the database. The headquarters (HQ) of Formosa Plastics, for
instance, is in the US. But Formosa Plastics is clearly a Taiwanese company with national origin
in Taiwan. It relocated its HQ from Taiwan to coordinate its six regional centers in the US.
Finally, Asian subsidiaries in the US that are purely sales units were also excluded from the study.
From company websites and telephone clarifications, it was possible to identify target
populations for each of the three countries, that is, 210 for Taiwan, 56 for Singapore and 113 for
South Korea.
In the second stage of the fieldwork, pilot surveys were conducted with 15 firms in order to
fine-tune the questionnaire. After refining the questionnaire, it was further determined that
telephone surveys would communicate the questions better than a mail survey. This was because
of language problems associated with Korean managers in particular. Despite careful translations
of the survey instrument into Chinese and Korean, pre-testing yielded better and more usable
262 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273

survey results with personal communication. All 383 firms were contacted and a total of 151
responses were collected over 3 months from February to April of 2003 resulting in response
rates of 35, 44 and 48% for Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore, respectively. Those who did not
respond included individuals who refused to participate in the survey citing company policies, or,
who were out of the country despite three or more attempts to contact them over the 3 months. In
the final stage of the fieldwork, post survey interviews were conducted with eight firms to clarify
the results and responses.
Three-quarters of the firms are in three major industries, namely computers,
semiconductors and electronics. The remaining firms are in chemicals, transportation,
telecommunications/IT, plastics and medical instruments or pharmaceuticals. Firms in low
technology sectors such as textiles were excluded from the survey. The distribution of firm
sizes in terms of worldwide sales is presented in Table 1. The table shows that Korean
companies are generally larger, with 41.1% reporting sales of over US$ 1 billion. This is
because the Korean industrial structure tends to be dominated by large business conglomerates
(chaebols) which are diversified but integrated corporations that are involved in a number of
product lines (Jung and Kwon, 2002). Singaporean and Taiwanese firms tend to be smaller
with the majority of firms reporting worldwide sales of less than US$ 50 million. While large
government-linked corporations also dominate in the Singapore economy, it is the IT sector
and thereby smaller firms that have led the country’s internationalization process in the US,
supported by government-based institutional infrastructure such as the Agency for Science,
Technology and Research.

3.2. Dependent and independent variables

The major dependent variable in this study pertains to innovation capability. Two measures
are used to evaluate this namely, the ability of firms to increase the number of US patents, and
the introduction of new products to the US market since they established operations in the
country. Between the two measures, the ability to introduce US patents is expected to
correspond to greater firm innovativeness and development of knowledge resources since
patent-making tends to reflect a solution to a scientific puzzle and involves inventions that may
or may not turn into successful products in the market. Introducing new products to the US
market also reflect a firm’s innovation capability, but because Asian firms rely on more
imitative and incremental product innovations, new product introduction here is largely
associated with the adaptation and enhancement of existing products, production or delivery

Table 1
Distribution of firm size
Size (worldwide sales US$) Distribution (%)
All Korea Taiwan Singapore
<50 million 59.0 26.5 84.2 68.1
50–250 million 21.3 20.6 5.3 26.1
251–500 million 3.3 5.9 5.3 1.5
501 million–1 billion 4.1 5.9 5.2 2.9
>1 billion 12.3 41.1 0.0 1.4
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Based on sample of 151. Source: authors’ survey.
 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273 263

systems (Song and Montoya-Weiss, 1998). A likert scale of 1–7 was used to rank these
measures with 1 being ‘‘did not increase at all’’ and 7 being ‘‘increased very significantly’’ (see
Appendix A for a list of the variables).
Independent variables, on the other hand, consist of two major sets of constructs. First, six
items describing innovation strategies were identified including technological activities, such as
basic science, applied research, product design and development, technology/engineering
process development, quality control of materials, and non-technological activities like
marketing capability. For each item, firms were asked to estimate whether the degree of
technology development had been significant after establishing their operations in the US with 1
being ‘‘not significant at all’’ and 7 being ‘‘critically significant’’. The Cronbach a-coefficient is
0.77, indicating reasonable internal consistency (see Appendix B for a summary of inter-item
correlations). A second set of construct deals with the sources that contribute to Asian firms’
capacity to develop technology after location in the US. These items are designed to elicit
responses on tacit and codified knowledge. Tacit knowledge includes items that measure the
share of firms’ R&D personnel as well as the importance of US-based engineering/consulting
services, strategic alliances and customer relationships. Items measuring codified knowledge
included blueprints, manuals, publications and imitation of US products and prototypes. The
Cronbach a-coefficient is very close to the recommended threshold of 0.7 at 0.69. In examining
the strategies and knowledge sources underscoring innovation capability, two variables were also
introduced to control for national differences in firm size and industry effects (see previous
section and Table 1).
Firm performance is measured by the firm’s annual sales growth over the past 10 years. Firms
that registered sales growth of 5% and below are classified as ‘‘low firm performance’’, while
those above 5% as ‘‘high firm performance’’. This classification was established based on sales
growth’s median and it is consistent with firms’ perception of ‘‘low’’ and ‘‘high’’ performance
(pilot interviews, 2002).
Finally, we also report the major reasons for Asian firms’ location in the US with each item
assigned a scale of 1–7, 1 being ‘‘not unimportant at all’’ and 7 being ‘‘critically important’’.
These items provide an important context to the hypotheses being tested. The eight locational
items are listed in Appendix A.

3.3. Model

All of the hypotheses outlined above except for H2a, H2b and H2c are tested using the ordered
probit model (OPM). This is because the constructs and their measures comprise ordinal data.
Ordered-response models are useful when the response variable is of an indexed nature, that is to
say, the dependent categories increase sequentially (e.g. from not important to very important).
Underlying the indexing is a latent but continuous descriptor of the response. The structural
model takes the form of:

y
i ¼ xi bi þ ei (1)

where xi is the vector of explanatory variables, bi the column vector of parameters

to be estimated with the first element being the intercept, y
i the latent variable and ei is
the random error term which is assumed to follow a normal distribution. OPM is derived
from a measurement model where the latent variable, which ranges from 1 to 1, is
mapped to an observable variable y such that the extreme interval categories w0 = 1
264 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273

and wj = 1. That is to say, y is related to y
i according to the following measurement

model:
8
>
> 1 ðnot important at allÞ if ’0 ¼ 1  y
i < ’1
>
> 
>
>
>
>
< 
yi ¼ 
>
>
>
> 
>
>
>
> 
:
7 ðcritically importantÞ if ’6 ¼ 1  y
i < ’7
Given the increasing order of the categories, a positive sign for b is interpreted as having greater
significance on innovation capability. Hypotheses H2a, H2b and H2c will be tested using a
loglinear model.

4. Analysis and results

Table 2 reports the factors that influence Asian firms’ decision to establish operations and
facilities in the US. The table is based on the analysis of covariance (anacova) and controls for
industry and firm size. The F-statistics are based on Type III errors and indicate that significant to
marginal differences exist between the three countries for three factors, namely, strategic alliance
and proximity to customers as well as to develop distribution channels, respectively. Specifically,
the anacova reveals that smaller firms such as those from Singapore and Taiwan place a greater
emphasis on strategic alliance and customer proximity more than larger firms from Korea.
Taiwanese firms also rank the development of distribution channels much more highly
(mean = 5.7) over both Korea and Singapore which have similar means of around 4.4. While
Korean firms gave a lower score to proximity to customers, their mean score is nonetheless still
quite high at 5.5 while the mean scores of the other two countries are over 6.0. Despite some
national differences, the results indicate that factors that are related to market orientation and
customers constitute the strongest reason for Asian investment in the US with overall mean for all
three countries at 6.0.
Firms assigned neutral to moderately important scores to three locational factors, namely,
proximity to competitors, developing new products and prototypes, and improving product

Table 2
Analysis of covariance: locational factors in the USa
Variable Country differences F-value
Access skilled labor No difference 1.00
Collect market information No difference 0.66
Develop distribution channels TW > SP, KR 2.52*
Strategic alliance SP > TW > KR 3.90**
Be near competitors No difference 0.38
Be near customers SP, TW > KR 3.20**
Develop new products and prototypes No difference 1.62
a
The results are controlled for firm size (total annual worldwide sales) and industrial types. F-values are based on Type
III errors.
*
denotes 10% significance level.
**
denotes 5% significance level.
 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273 265

quality and performance. Developing new products and prototypes has the lowest overall mean
with a nearly neutral score of 3.9. This is consistent with earlier observations of the paper that
Asian firms are predominantly imitators-turned-reinnovators rather than radical innovators with
firms attaching slightly greater importance to improvements in product quality, performance or
even design. Asian firms are also interested in locating near their rivals or competitors in order to
gather intelligence on their competitive strategies and to exploit potential information spillover
benefits. Finally, it would seem that access to skilled labor in the US is relatively unimportant
with firms reporting a low mean of 3.1.
A major reason that was provided to us during post-survey interviews is that skilled personnel
in the form of engineers are readily available back in the firms’ home countries where wages are
also lower. In particular, Korean companies in the US tend to depend on skilled personnel from
back home rather than workers from the US. This may be explained by the fact that Korean parent
companies tend to exert a stronger control over their subsidiaries compared to the other two
nationalities. What Table 2 indicates is that despite some differences, firms from the three
countries are relatively similar in their main motivations to set up operations in the US with
market-based opportunities being the most important.
To test hypotheses H1a, H1b and H1c, we report the report the results of ordered probit
regressions (Table 3). The likelihood ratio is highly significant at 1% which indicates a good
model fit. Table 3 shows that innovation strategies based on new product development and
marketing capability are positive at the 5% level but applied research is only positively significant
at 10%. The results strongly support H1b and H1c, but it is less evident for H1a. Many firms in the
post-survey interviews emphasize the importance of benchmarking their position against
competitors in relevant market segments in the US. Typically this means that they have to
improve their products constantly. This is particularly the case when the product or application is

Table 3
Ordered probit regression: types of innovation activities and innovation capability
Variable Parameter estimate
b (dependent variable = US patents)
Sector 0.006
Size 0.186
Basic science 0.082
Applied research 0.151*
New product development 0.137**
Technology/engineering process development 0.020
Quality control of materials 0.058
Marketing capability 0.159**
w1 1.337***
w2 17.100***
w3 1.998***
w4 2.288***
w5 2.810***
w6 3.645***
2 log L 308.576
Likelihood ratio 25.183***
*
denotes 10% significance level.
**
denotes 5% significance level.
***
denotes 1% significance level.
266 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273

developed for a specialized market segment. The results also support existing evidence that
market-derived innovations and R&D tend to go hand-in-hand together (Gupta et al., 1986;
Moenaert et al., 1994). This market-pull approach (Weerawardena, 2003) suggests that firms are
constantly scanning markets for opportunities to satisfy their customers’ needs.
Other innovation activities such as technology and engineering process do not appear to have
led to the appropriation of US patents. One reason for this may be due to transfer costs associated
with process designs and process engineering. Teece (1977) has noted that while the transfer
process of such technology tends to be less difficult, the absorption process, on the other hand
typically involves the transfer of instruments or specifications that facilitate continuous
technology flow. Absorbing the engineering process, however, requires considerable advisory
resources and access to complementary assets to make a new process feasible. As expected, basic
science and product design and development are also not significant. Table 3 supports hypotheses
H1b and H1c that firms from industrializing countries that focus on new product development
and marketing capability tend to reap better results. The data show that these types of activities
have directly resulted in abilities to secure US patents. One Taiwanese company we spoke to
confirmed that such a trajectory is consistent with the Japanese catch-up model, since most of
Asian firms’ innovative activities are associated with more mature stages of the product cycle.
This also suggests that market rather than technological competence is used to build barriers
against competitors, or, to distinguish the innovation from other producers.
To test H2a, H2b and H2c, that is the effect of the above three innovation strategies on firm
performance, we use loglinear models. Loglinear models allow examination of the relationship
without the need to specify a dependent variable. This is useful when the number of categories is
small (two for firm performance, see Section 3.2) and when the directionality of influence is
unclear as suggested by some authors (Schewe, 1996). This is because innovations in mature
technology can also be driven by increased sales which are compatible with the stage of the
product cycle. No distinction between dependent and independent variables is necessary in
loglinear modeling, therefore the model only indicates association between variables.
Table 4 compares firms’ performance to that of their sales growth, and, the importance of new
product development, applied research and marketing capability in its R&D activities
(independence model). An interaction term for each innovative type has also been added that
examines the significance of the relationship between firm’s performance and the R&D activity
type. If the interaction term is found to be significant, then hypotheses H2a, H2b and H2c may be
supported. The results show that hypotheses H2b and H2c may be somewhat supported.
However, this is not the case for applied research. That is to say, the interaction variable sales
growth  applied research is not significant. While applied research may be desirable in helping
the firms build knowledge resources, it does not necessarily result in favorable firm performance.
Tables 5 and 6 report the results of the ordered probit regressions. The estimated regressions in
Table 5 suggests that tacit knowledge in the form of R&D personnel is a significant source of
knowledge for firms’ innovation activities in applied research and new product development
while interactions with customers and the strengthening of such relationships locally help
develop marketing capability. The experience constituted within R&D personnel is measured by
the share of engineers and scientists in the company and many of these personnel possess context-
specific knowledge that is relevant to the firm’s product and technology. Firm size is also positive
and significant for new product development. There is also evidence that tacit knowledge through
external partners such as strategic alliance and engineering/consulting firms are significant
sources of tacit knowledge. None of the variables measuring codified knowledge is significant.
The results would seem to support H3a, H3b and H3c.
 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273 267

Table 4
Loglinear model: innovation activities and firm performance
Variables x2
1. Sales growth and applied research
Sector 6.70***
Sales growth 3.05
Applied research 15.82***
Sales growth  applied research 3.54
Sales growth  sector 0.85
Wald statistic a 0.18
2. New product development (NPD)
Sector 8.28***
Sales growth 1.10
NPD 6.20**
Sales growth  NPD 5.26*
Sales growth  sector 1.52
Wald statistic a 1.65
3. Sales growth and marketing capability (MC)
Sector 14.25***
Sales growth 2.34
MC 28.00***
Sales growth  MC 5.12*
Sales growth  sector 4.93*
Wald statistic a 2.03
a
Test for independence.
*
denotes 10% significance level.
**
denotes 5% significance level.
***
denotes 1% significance level.

To examine the final hypotheses, H4a and H4b, we performed similar regressions on firms’
innovation capability with the above sources of knowledge according to their age. We measured
innovation capability in terms of firms’ ability to introduce new products to the US market since
they established operations in the country. Three out of four firms reported moderate to important
success in this dimension compared to only one out of four firms in US patents. As observed
earlier, new product development here is largely associated with enhancing product value which
can be rapidly commercialized on the market (firm interviews, 2003). Table 6 indicates that older
firms2 develop new product capabilities through deployment of their R&D personnel, and
through the development of strong local relationships with customers. As firms grow older and
become more embedded in the US, skilled individuals have more opportunities and time to
acquire tacit knowledge. Transfer of tacit knowledge is also enhanced when customers are local
or geographically proximate (see Table 2), and when they are not end-users but are other
companies.
Customers and skilled personnel constitute major sources of product and technological
experiences. Customers are also the primary source of new knowledge since they can be involved
in problem-solving and they can help make sense of knowledge (Dougherty et al., 2000).

2
Older firms are defined as Asian firms with operations in the US for more than 5 years.
268 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273

Table 5
Ordered probit regressions: sources of innovation knowledge
Variable Parameter estimate Parameter estimate Parameter estimate
(Dep. var. = AR) (Dep. var. = NPD) (Dep. var. = MC)
Sector 0.050** 0.0256 0.029
Size 0.045 0.162** 0.015
R&D personnel 0.272*** 0.202** 0.095
US engineering/consulting service 0.005 0.191*** 0.194***
US blueprints/manuals/publications 0.015 0.039 0.890
Follow US products/prototypes 0.062 0.030 0.096
Strategic alliance 0.129** 0.022 0.030
Local customer relationship 0.089 0.016 0.210**
w1 0.944 0.566*** 0.560
w2 1.444** 0.839*** 0.014
w3 1.678** 1.203*** 0.517
w4 1.824*** 1.443** 0.841
w5 2.443*** 1.922 1.308**
w6 3.332*** 2.745 2.117***
2 log L 279.170 343.496 343.641
Likelihood ratio 22.790*** 27.271*** 18.056**
AR, applied research; NPD, new product development; MC, marketing capability.
**
denotes 5% significance level.
***
denotes 1% significance level.

Table 6
Ordered probit regressions: firm age, new product development and sources of technological knowledgea
Variable Parameter estimate, b
Old firms Young firms
Sector 0.001 0.020
Size 0.031 0.380
R&D personnel 0.200** 0.451**
US engineering/consulting service 0.071 0.564***
US blueprints/manuals/publications 0.087 0.211
Follow US products/prototypes 0.027 0.391
Strategic alliance 0.043 0.573**
Local customer relationship 0.301** 0.070
w1 0.686 2.917
w2 1.255** 
w3 1.503** 1.726
w4 1.875*** 0.347
w5 2.451*** 1.738
w6 2.985*** 3.211*
2 log L 274.005 49.413
Likelihood ratio 20.474*** 21.119***
Firms that have only been operating in the US for less than 6 years are classified as young firms (n = 33). Note: w3 is not
estimated because there is no response associated with this scale.
a
Dependent variable, new product development.
*
denotes 10% significance level.
**
denotes 5% significance level.
***
denotes 1% significance level.
 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273 269

Customer inputs therefore turn a company’s technology into a commercially successful product.
Similarly, and contrary to expectation, younger firms also rely on tacit knowledge to develop
their innovation capability, using R&D personnel, engineering and consulting companies and
strategic alliances. Codified forms of knowledge, it would seem, have no effect on innovation
capability even for younger firms.
There is, however, one notable difference between younger and older firms. The emphasis
on customer relationships for older firms suggests a more market-focused learning strategy
compared to younger firms. Clearly for young firms, one way of overcoming environmental
uncertainties and the liability of newness is to externalize risks through collaborative
relationships to maximize knowledge with partners who already possess the needed
knowledge investment. A major motive for entering into strategic alliances among
Asian firms is that of technology partnering and cooperation. Such alliances allow firms to
reduce risks and uncertainty that are found in R&D research. As noted by Hagedoorn (1993),
strategic technology partnering is much more significant in applied research than other types
of research such as basic research because the latter is of less relevance to
interfirm cooperation since it is more or less a public good. Moreover, basic research
often forms the core of a firm’s technological assets, hence there is less incentive to
collaborate.
In contrast, older firms tend to tap into sources that are more conducive to the
internalization of knowledge assets. This is consistent with the customer–supplier relationship
literature that points to customers as a major source of generation and transfer of both
incremental and radical innovations (Roy et al., 2004). As observed earlier knowledge is
relatively sticky, hence strong local relationships increase the quantity and scope of
interactions that, in turn, eases the transmission of knowledge. One Korean auto supplier for
example reported a preference for locating the company’s operations and research facilities in
the South because of the absence of unionized labor. But it finally settled in Detroit because
this facilitates interactions with its major customer, General Motors (GM). Proximity to, and a
strong relationship with GM enhances the firm’s tacit understanding of GM’s specifications
that are related to new car models, providing it with a lead time to develop products for GM
ahead of its competitors.

5. Conclusion, discussion, and research limitations

To develop firm-specific technology, a firm first needs to accumulate some basic technological
know-how. Asian firms attain this know-how capability initially by forging backward and
forward linkages with the affiliates of foreign MNCs in Asia. The problem with relying on
imported technology, however, is that Asian firms are unlikely to acquire more advanced forms of
knowledge since the latter constitutes the principle ownership advantage of MNCs’ operations
abroad. Over time then, technological catch-up and narrowing involve firm strategies that enable
the firms to directly learn, build and indigenize technologies through foreign location in
technology rich environments such as the US. Such relocation allows Asian firms not only to
imitate and internalize technologies from leading US competitors and rivals, but also to directly
engage in knowledge transfers with sophisticated buyers through co-production with customers.
Indeed the more complex the knowledge, the more important is co-production between the firms
and their customers.
To engage in technological and non-technological innovations, however, a firm also needs a
core of capabilities. These capabilities can be enabling or constraining depending on the skills
270 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273

and knowledge of R&D personnel and the links between R&D, production and marketing. This
implies that some activities will meet with more economic success than others. In studying
industrializing Asian firms in the US, this paper identifies new product development and
marketing capability as the most promising innovation activities for appropriation of US
patents, but not basic science, engineering process technology or design capabilities. As
pointed out by Nelson (1991), firms need to learn to get good at certain types of innovation, and,
at the sources that allow them to take advantage of, rather than a more ad-hoc effort in R&D
research.
The results in this paper indicate that Asian firms focus on an innovation strategy of new
product development and marketing capability for two major reasons. First, innovations tend to
be associated with more mature stages of the product life cycle, hence incremental to moderate
innovations are necessarily tied to market competency. A firm’s innovativeness is correlated to its
ability not only to identify applications and products, but also to commercialize the applications
and products. Hence, fewer Asian firms in this research reported successfully introducing US
patents than new products on the market. Through complementary linkages between marketing
capability and product development, Asian firms have been able to secure a higher level of
economic success with firms experiencing higher sales growth for those engaged in these
strategies.
Second, applied knowledge and R&D tend to be poorly diffused reflecting the relative
stickiness of firm-specific knowledge in this sort of innovation activity. Because most Asian firms
are reinnovators, firm-specific R&D tends to be more difficult to imitate particularly if their rivals
have little access to these assets. The relative difficulty of appropriability implies that Asian firms
that rely on codified or more explicit or even imitative forms of knowledge resources are less
likely to build sustained innovation capability. Clearly the latter strategy has enabled Asian firms
in the past to acquire considerable technological know-what, but increasingly, knowledge know-
how contains a learning dimension that requires a high tacit understanding.
This is true for both recent (young firms) and late (old firms) innovators, and it is also true for
the three types of innovation activities that underlie the firms’ knowledge base, that is, new
product development, applied research and marketing capability. Knowledge acquisition among
Asian firms indicate that tacit knowledge transfers through deployment of skilled personnel in
R&D and close interactions with customers to identify and generate relevant understanding of
applications of new technology, remain principle sources of developing innovation capability.
These are supplemented by external sources such as strategic alliances with firms that possess
relevant technological assets or through consultation with engineering service specialists.
Finally some residual issues remain. First, the survey could be strengthened with more
reverse-coding format. Second, other non-technological innovations need to be explored besides
marketing capability such as distribution channels. Indeed post-survey interviews indicated that
distributors can also be a major source of innovations because they work closely with customers.
Finally, it is unclear if the current innovation strategies of Asian firms are sustainable in the long
run for building knowledge competencies in the absence of parallel developments in more
fundamental sources of knowledge generation, specifically basic scientific research.

Acknowledgements

Support for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation (award number
BCS-0137045). We thank the editor and four reviewers for their constructive comments which
greatly improved this paper.
 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273 271

Appendix A

Construct Measure

1. Dependent variable
1.1 Innovation capability: since investing or Introduction of US patents,
operating in the US, has the number of introduction of new products to US
(a) new products and (b) US patents increased
for the parent and US companies? (1, did not
increase at all; 7, increased very significantly)
1.2 Firm performance Average annual growth in sales
2. Independent variable
2.1 Innovation strategies: please estimate if Basic science, applied research, product
the degree of technology development has been design/development, technology/engineering
significant in the following categories after process development, quality
establishing your company in the US (1, not control of materials, marketing capability
significant at all; 7, critically significant)
2.2 Sources of technological knowledge:
how important are the following factors
in contributing to your US company’s
capacity to develop technology? (1, not
important at all; 7, critically important)
(a) Tacit knowledge Share of R&D personnel (%), US engineering/
consulting services, strategic alliances,
local relationships with customers
(b) Codified knowledge US blueprints/manuals/publications, follow
US products/prototypes
3. Locational factors
How important are the following reasons Access skilled labor, collect market information,
for locating your company and develop distribution channels, strategic alliance,
operations in the US? (1, not be near competitors, be near customers, develop
important at all; 7, critically important) new products and prototypes

Appendix B. Correlations

(a) Innovation strategies and activities

BS AR NPD TPD QCM MC

BS – 0.73824 0.41709 0.47990 0.33588 0.00945

AR – 0.46855 0.57434 0.35520 0.00331
NPD – 0.53107 0.41971 0.13537
TPD – 0.56037 0.16664
QCM – 0.19332

(b) Sources of Innovation

EC BM FPP SI CUST

EC – 0.15541 0.34512 0.51629 0.08767

BM – 0.45929 0.30225 0.31619
FPP – 0.30650 0.34324
SI – 0.23137
272 J.P.H. Poon, A. MacPherson / J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 22 (2005) 255–273

Appendix B. (Continued )
(c) Locational factors

LABOR MI DISTRIB COMPET CUST NPP

LABOR – 0.10319 0.09925 0.20189 0.01575 0.19759

MI – 0.42503 0.46958 0.25121 0.20938
DISTRIB – 0.30721 0.34597 0.19808
COMPET – 0.37106 0.23808
CUST – 0.26377

BS, basic scientific research; AR, applied research; NPD, new product development; TPD, technology process
development; QCM, quality control of materials/product; MC, marketing capability and research; EC, engineering/
consulting services in US; BM, blueprints/manuals/publications from organizations in US; FPP, following product
pototypes or engineering systems in US; SI, strategic alliance in the US; CUST, strong local relationships with customers
or firms in US; LABOR, to take advantage of skilled labor; MI, to collect market information and intelligence; DISTRIB,
to develop distribution channels; COMPET, to be near competitors; CUST, to be near customers; NPP, to develop new
products and prototypes.

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