Estimating technological spillover effects in presence of knowledge heterogeneous foreign subsidiaries: Evidence from Colombia

Abstract

This paper analyses the effects of heterogeneous foreign subsidiaries in the generation of knowledge spillovers beneficial for domestic owned firms. The empirical analysis uses firm-level panel data for manufacturing firms in Colombia for the period 2003-2012. We identify two different types of subsidiaries according to their technological responsibilities and mandates, to empirically test the existence of differential effects on domestic firms’ productivity. Our results confirm that only those subsidiaries oriented to creative technological activities exert significant and positive effects, while those subsidiaries oriented to exploitative technological activities do not generate knowledge spillover effects. These findings contribute to arguments in the existing literature supporting the distinctive role and relevance of heterogeneous foreign subsidiaries in developing host contexts.