Conducting R&D in Countries with Weak Intellectual Property Rights Protection

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are increasingly conducting research and development (R&D) in countries such as China and India, where intellectual property rights (IPR) protection is still far from adequate. This paper examines this seemingly puzzling situation. I argue that weak IPR leads to low returns to innovation and underutilization of innovative talents; MNEs that possess alternative mechanisms for protecting their intellectual properties will therefore find it attractive to conduct R&D at those locations. A theoretical framework is developed to capture the interaction between firm strategy and the institutional environment. The empirical analysis on a sample of 1,567 U.S.-headquartered…