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Linkages and technology spillovers in the presence of foreign firms Evidence from the Indian pharmaceutical industry

Linkages and technology spillovers in the presence of foreign firms Evidence from the Indian... Purpose – This paper aims to examine production linkage and technology spillovers due to the presence of foreign firms in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Design/methodology/approach – This study employs the semi‐parametric estimation method suggested by Olley and Pakes to control for unobserved firm heterogeneity that accounts for the endogeneity of input selection with respect to productivity. Findings – The results suggest that R&D activities of foreign firms lead to positive technology spillover to local firms. However, we also found negative linkage from the activities of foreign firms. The negative linkage could be explained by the large reverse engineering activities that occur on existing drugs in the Indian pharmaceutical industry, where the enclave activities of foreign firms might be a preemptive strategy to reduce the flow of technologies to downstream local firms and to protect their firm‐specific (product) technology. Originality/value – The results provide support for strong institutional arrangements such as giving protection for Intellectual Property Rights, which might be important for attracting and creating linkages with activities of foreign firms in the host country. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Economic Studies Emerald Publishing

Linkages and technology spillovers in the presence of foreign firms Evidence from the Indian pharmaceutical industry

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References (35)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0144-3585
DOI
10.1108/01443581111152391
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to examine production linkage and technology spillovers due to the presence of foreign firms in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Design/methodology/approach – This study employs the semi‐parametric estimation method suggested by Olley and Pakes to control for unobserved firm heterogeneity that accounts for the endogeneity of input selection with respect to productivity. Findings – The results suggest that R&D activities of foreign firms lead to positive technology spillover to local firms. However, we also found negative linkage from the activities of foreign firms. The negative linkage could be explained by the large reverse engineering activities that occur on existing drugs in the Indian pharmaceutical industry, where the enclave activities of foreign firms might be a preemptive strategy to reduce the flow of technologies to downstream local firms and to protect their firm‐specific (product) technology. Originality/value – The results provide support for strong institutional arrangements such as giving protection for Intellectual Property Rights, which might be important for attracting and creating linkages with activities of foreign firms in the host country.

Journal

Journal of Economic Studies – Emerald Publishing

Published: Aug 2, 2011

Keywords: Olley‐Pakes; Spillovers; Backward linkage; Pharmaceuticals industry; India

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