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The 20 years following the introduction of the seminal construct of absorptive capacity (AC) by Cohen and Levinthal (Cohen, W. M., D. A. Levinthal. 1989. Innovation and learning: The two faces of R&D. Econom. J. 99 (397) 569-596; Cohen, W. M., D. A. Levinthal. 1990. Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Admin. Sci. Quart. 35 (1) 128-152) have seen the proliferation of a vast literature citing the AC construct in over 10,000 published papers, chapters, and books, and interpreting it or applying it in many areas of organization science research, including organization theory, strategic management, and economics. However, with very few exceptions, the specific organizational routines and processes that constitute AC capabilities remain a black box. In this paper, we propose a routine-based model of AC as a first step toward the operationalization of the AC construct. Our intent is to direct attention to the importance of balancing internal knowledge creating processes with the identification, acquisition, and assimilation of new knowledge originating in the external environment. We decompose the construct of AC into two components, internal and external AC capabilities, and identify the configuration of metaroutines underlying these two components. These higher-level routines are expressed within organizations by configurations of empirically observable practiced routines that are idiosyncratic and firm specific. Therefore, we conceptualize metaroutines as the foundations of practiced routines. The ability of organizations to discover and implement complementarities between AC routines may explain why some firms are successful early adopters and most firms are imitators. Success as an early adopter of a new management practice or an innovation is expected to depend on the extent to which an organization evolves, adapts, and implements the configuration of its internal and external absorptive capacity routines.

This paper empirically studies determinants of decision by companies to offshore innovation activities. It uses survey data from the international Offshoring Research Network project to estimate the impact of managerial intentionality, past experience, and environmental factors on the probability of offshoring innovation projects. The results show that the emerging shortage of highly skilled science and engineering talent in the US and, more generally, the need to access qualified personnel are important explanatory factors for offshoring innovation decisions. Moreover, contrary to drivers of many other functions, labor arbitrage is less important than other forms of cost savings. The paper concludes with a discussion of the changing dynamics underlying offshoring of innovation activities, suggesting that companies are entering a global race for talent.

Since the first Trademark Law was enacted in China in 1982, the Chinese intellectual property rights (IPR) system has undergone significant changes in both the design of the legislation and its enforcement. In this article, we analyze the evolution of IPR legislation and enforcement in China. To this end, we illustrate the evolutionary changes of the Chinese IPR system and analyze the changes introduced in four revisions (1992–1993, 2000–2001, 2008–2013, and 2019–2020). Our analysis shows that Patent Law, Trademark Law, and Copyright Law have been substantially enhanced, especially since 2000, when China improved its IPR system to comply with the TRIPS Agreement and join the WTO, and especially the most recent amendments of these three IP Laws. We discuss the number of IPR infringement cases handled by both relevant administrative authorities and courts to analyze IPR enforcement in China. Results indicate that the development of IPR protection enforcement followed the improvement of relevant IPR laws. The two revisions introduced after 2008, changes in the Chinese IPR system, and an increasing number of IPR infringement cases handled by relevant authorities also suggest the willingness of the Chinese government to further enhance its IPR protection. 自 1982 年中国颁布第一部商标法以来，中国的知识产权体系在立法和执法方面都发生了重大变化。在本文中，我们分析了中国知识产权立法和执法的演变。为此，我们介绍了中国知识产权体系的演进变化，并分析了四个修订版（1992-1993、2000-2001、2008-2013和2019-2020）中引入的变化。我们的分析表明，特别是自 2000 年中国完善知识产权体系以遵守 TRIPS 协议并加入 WTO 以来，专利法、商标法和著作权法对于知识产权的保护力度均得到了实质性增强，尤其是最近对这三部知识产权法的修订。我们讨论了相关行政部门和法院处理的知识产权侵权案件数量，以分析中国的知识产权执法情况。结果表明，知识产权保护执法的发展伴随着相关知识产权法律的完善。 2008年之后的两次修订、中国知识产权体系的变化以及有关部门处理的知识产权侵权案件数量的增加，也表明了中国政府进一步加强知识产权保护的意愿。

The concept of absorptive capacity (AC) of firms (Cohen and Levinthal 1989 and 1990) is a foundational feature of organizational learning and adaptation that has had enormous influence in international business (IB), and innovation studies and management research in general. In this tribute to Dan Levinthal, we discuss the close connection between AC and learning – two areas central to Dan Levinthal’s research – in relation to different contexts where AC comes into play in extant IB research. We discuss four specific aspects of the nexus of AC and learning in the context of IB: (1) bridging between intra-and inter-firm learning; (2) a routine-based framing of AC that emphasizes processes and capabilities underlying seeking, assimilating, and innovation in a global setting; (3) the role of socially enabling mechanisms, and (4) the logic of learning through trial and error experiments within firms and countries.

Research summary: This article studies how the logic of firm governance choices varies as a function of the time of adoption of particular sourcing practices. Using data on the diffusion of global business services sourcing as a management practice from early experiments in the 1980s through 2011, we show that the extent to which governance choices are affected by process commoditization, availability of external service capabilities, and past governance choices depends on whether firms are early or late adopters. Findings inform research on governance choice dynamics specifically in highly diverse and evolving firm populations. Managerial summary: This article considers how firms have chosen delivery models in global services sourcing decisions over time. Based on comprehensive data, we make two major observations. First, we find that firms that began with global services sourcing early, invested mainly in their internal sourcing capacity, while outsourcing only simple tasks to external providers, whereas firms that started later invested more in their capability to outsource various services to increasingly sophisticated suppliers. Second, we find that initial investments in internal or external sourcing capabilities have a strong effect on future choices of delivery models. This explains why, even today, firms vary greatly in how they implement global sourcing decisions, and it suggests that newcomers should learn from their own peer group rather than from highly experienced firms.

In this paper, we introduce the journal of International Business Studies Special Issue on Offshoring Administrative and Technical Services (ATS). In doing so, we have attempted to locate the topic within the international business research tradition, as well as suggest challenges and opportunities that the phenomenon offers to theoretical and empirical research in the field. We examine the interplay of costs, knowledge, and innovation in the evolution of ATS offshoring from modest beginnings to its current stature as an accepted business practice. We suggest that understanding the continuing evolution of ATS offshoring requires researchers to take into account not only the business imperative of cost-saving, but also a more complex set of underlying factors and potential outcomes. We argue that the rapid growth of ATS offshoring has brought about an accumulation of resources, including financial flows, knowledge, infrastructure and human capital to create new platforms for knowledge creation and innovation. Low costs may characterize the initial conditions for offshoring, but they also provide the basis for up-market moves as firms increasingly pursue innovation-based strategies. We introduce the papers in the Special Issue as integral elements in our discussion, contributing new ideas that stimulated our thinking and, hopefully, will do the same for others seeking to understand this emerging area of globalization and international managerial practice.

This paper empirically studies determinants of decision by companies to offshore innovation activities. It uses survey data from the international Offshoring Research Network project to estimate the impact of managerial intentionality, past experience, and environmental factors on the probability of offshoring innovation projects. The results show that the emerging shortage of highly skilled science and engineering talent in the US and, more generally, the need to access qualified personnel are important explanatory factors for offshoring innovation decisions. Moreover, contrary to drivers of many other functions, labor arbitrage is less important than other forms of cost savings. The paper concludes with a discussion of the changing dynamics underlying offshoring of innovation activities, suggesting that companies are entering a global race for talent. Reprinted by permission of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.

In this paper, we introduce the Journal of International Business Studies Special Issue on Offshoring Administrative and Technical Services (ATS). In doing so, we have attempted to locate the topic within the international business research tradition, as well as suggest challenges and opportunities that the phenomenon offers to theoretical and empirical research in the field. We examine the interplay of costs, knowledge, and innovation in the evolution of ATS offshoring from modest beginnings to its current stature as an accepted business practice. We suggest that understanding the continuing evolution of ATS offshoring requires researchers to take into account not only the business imperative of cost-saving, but also a more complex set of underlying factors and potential outcomes. We argue that the rapid growth of ATS offshoring has brought about an accumulation of resources, including financial flows, knowledge, infrastructure and human capital to create new platforms for knowledge creation and innovation. Low costs may characterize the initial conditions for offshoring, but they also provide the basis for up-market moves as firms increasingly pursue innovation-based strategies. We introduce the papers in the Special Issue as integral elements in our discussion, contributing new ideas that stimulated our thinking and, hopefully, will do the same for others seeking to understand this emerging area of globalization and international managerial practice.