Abstract :
The paper reviews and systematizes the management literature directly and indirectly
related to (re)location of research and development (R&D), in the form of both insourcing
and outsourcing. The focus in particular is on R&D offshore outsourcing and its
main drivers, including locational constraints and opportunities, motives, strategic
decisions and managerial challenges. The analysis synthesizes and links the main
propositions and findings of the theoretical and empirical work to build an original
management and strategy centred framework which looks at R&D (re)location from a
client–vendor perspective. In this case, the client is the offshoring company, and the
vendors are the firms located in the host country. The characteristics of the firms and
locations considered vis-à-vis the offshoring firm’s goals are examined, the strategies
implemented, the management and organizational challenges that R&D offshore outsourcing
entails, and the ways in which offshoring impacts on both home and host
locations are investigated.
