Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
BOX 4.2
TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES AND
REGIONAL EMBEDDEDNESS OF MNEs
IN ADVANCED REGIONAL SYSTEMS: A
CASE STUDY ON GERMANY AND THE
UK
Looking at the process of MNEs' spatial embeddedness through
the lenses of technological capabilities means to understand
how MNEs carry out their innovative activity within the firm and
the region and how, in so doing, they rely upon and contribute
to regional knowledge creation. We study six MNEs belonging
to the ICT, automotive and life science industries (two for each
sector) operating both in Germany - specifically in the regions
of Baden-Württemberg, Munich, North-Rhine Westphalia and
Lower Saxonia - and in the UK - in Cambridge, Thames Valley,
West Midlands and North West. For each industry, we consider
two MNE headquarters, one UK-owned and one German-owned,
as well as one respective subsidiary in both Germany and the
UK. The analysis is based on 44 semi-structured interviews with
senior managerial and technical personnel from different busi-
ness units. We focus on three main aspects: human resources,
organization of R&D, and intra-firm and external knowledge
linkages. All such mechanisms become territorially embedded
focussing on the two-way relationship between the region and the
MNEs and vice versa.
Human Resources: how MNEs support and upgrade their
employees' skills
MNEs strategies broadly fall into three categories: (1)
Hiring
methods and talent management
.
As for the former, traditional
strategies (specialist press, head hunters, and so on) are being
complemented by social network software systems, to attract
especially the youngest highly qualified segments of the labour
market. As for the management of talent, firms are investing
increasingly in leadership programs for high profile candidates,
developing systems to define clearer career paths with individu-
ally tailored training; (2)
Strategic skills forecast
, that is, aware-
ness of future skills demand and supply. In the UK, for example,
one of the firms in the automotive sector produced a report to
estimate the entity and cost of the future skill-gap, advocating
