Determinants of subsidiary’s technological capability – examining the roles of subsidiary–local supplier linkage

Purpose – This study aims to explore the effects of subsidiary–local supplier linkage characteristics in a supply chain and the moderating effects of a multinational corporation’s (MNC’s) international experience (IE) and a subsidiary’s innovation orientation (IO) on the subsidiary’s technological capability. Design/methodology/approach – A new research framework is developed comprising four constructs and six research hypotheses. Applying the regression model, the hypotheses were tested on data from Taiwanese MNC’s subsidiaries of manufacturing industries in Asian developing countries. Findings – The subsidiary–local supplier linkage characteristics, including economic aspect: asset-specific investment (ASI) of local supplier and social aspect: relational capital (RC) of local linkage, are positively associated with subsidiary’s technological capability. Moreover, the MNC’s IE can enhance the positive effect of RC on the subsidiary’s technological capability and the subsidiary’s IO decreases the positive impact of ASI on the subsidiary’s technological capability. Practical implications – This study provides useful insights into how MNCs and subsidiaries should concentrate on the factors that increase the subsidiary’s technological capability. Moreover, MNCs’ and subsidiaries’ managers must endeavor to establish long-term linkages with carefully selected local suppliers, induce these suppliers to provide appropriate ASI, and actively develop RC in the subsidiary–local supplier linkage to enhance the subsidiary’s technological capability. Originality/value – This study demonstrates that subsidiary–local supplier linkage characteristics, MNC’s IE and subsidiary’s IO can be applied to examine the technological capability of subsidiaries operating in less advanced countries.