R&D Management of Japanese Pharmaceutical Firms

We analyze how Japanese pharmaceutical firms internationalized their research and development (R&D) investments during the 1980 and 1990s. In order to tap into foreign knowledge bases, they heavily invested in setting up R&D centers abroad. However, knowledge transfer, evidenced by international patent applications, was very limited during the early phase of globalization. As a response, Japanese firms have shifted their R&D strategy toward a better organizational integration of their foreign units.