It has been recognized that, in worldwide companies, the opportunities for innovation and the resources needed for it are often in different locations. The innovation processes then become transnational. Starting from a case study on Nissan cross-border product development, this work shows that, for transnational projects to be successful, a company has to undertake organizational actions in a long-term perspective. Company culture and human resource policy should help shape the organization appropriately, especially to orient it towards the sharing of resources, ideas and opportunities and to leverage local resources to the global benefit.< >
Recent models in international management view the internationally operating company as a coordinated network. The authors consider the R&D globalization process in the coordinated network companies. A model is presented, which shows that an international R&D infrastructure is designed to meet three main objectives: constituent technology development; product development; and technical support. Each of them requires building up a network, and has its logic for being globalized, its locational determinants, and its managerial issues.< >