Technology transfer within China and the role of location choices

We examine how emerging country business groups overcome various technological constraints and succeed in enhancing their performance. Our theoretical contribution lies in showing how the ability of a business unit to benefit from intra-group technology transfer depends on the idiosyncratic manner in which the group geographically configures its network of units. The findings reveal that the geographic dispersion and concentration of the units of a group alter both the ability and willingness of its business units to transfer technologies to (or receive technologies from) other units and subsequently result in different performance outcomes. The location of a business unit also determines whether or not a unit competes with other fellow units and, consequently, influences how much a unit benefits from the technologies held by the group.