On the Contributions of Knowledge-Intensive Business-Services Multinationals to Laggard Innovation Systems

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is assumed to be a source of knowledge flows across National Innovation Systems, with particular relevance for developing countries. Nonetheless, empirical assessments are usually manufacturing-oriented, providing only a partial view of the phenomena under scrutiny. This article aims at contributing to this body of literature by investigating the impacts of inward FDI on aggregate outcomes of developing countries' National Innovation Systems, taking into account potential contributions from Knowledge-Intensive Business-Services (KIBS) multinationals and their respective comparison with manufacturing investments. Using a panel dataset comprising 38 developing countries (2001-2010), fixed-effects regressions are applied according to a traditional endogenous growth model. Empirical findings underscore the relevance of KIBS MNCs' contributions to host innovation systems in developing countries. These impacts broadly surmount those of manufacturing FDI and they are particularly significant for: (a) value added in services; (b) value added in manufacturing; (c) aggregate export capacity; and (d) international (United States Patent and Trademark Office[USPTO]) patenting activity.

外商直接投资（Foreign Direct Investment，FDI）被视为国家创新系统间知识流动的重要渠道，对发展中国家尤为关键。然而，既有实证评估多聚焦于制造业领域，仅能对所研究的现象提供片面视角。本文旨在丰富该领域的研究文献，通过探究流入型外商直接投资对发展中国家国家创新系统（National Innovation Systems）整体绩效的影响，同时考量知识密集型商业服务（Knowledge-Intensive Business-Services，KIBS）跨国企业的潜在贡献，并分别与制造业投资进行对比分析。本文采用涵盖38个发展中国家2001年至2010年的面板数据集，基于传统内生增长模型开展固定效应回归分析。实证结果凸显了知识密集型商业服务跨国企业对发展中东道国创新系统的贡献意义，其影响效应显著超越制造业外商直接投资，且在以下四方面尤为突出：(a) 服务业增加值；(b) 制造业增加值；(c) 总出口能力；(d) 国际专利（美国专利商标局，United States Patent and Trademark Office，USPTO）申请活动。