Overseas operations, global value chain position and technological innovation

Based on a sample of Chinese listed companies with overseas operations from 2010 to 2020, this study empirically studies the impact of multinational corporations (MNCs) overseas expansion on their technological innovation and the moderating effect of the global value chain position. Based on the combination of internalization innovation theory and global value chain approach, the results of this study show an inverted U-shaped relationship between overseas operations of MNCs and technological innovation due to the simultaneous existence of the learning effect, advantages of economies of scale, internal and external coordination costs, and technology spillover risk, and the above positive and negative effects play different roles at different stages of MNCs’ overseas operations. The moderating effects test find that global value chain position strengthens the positive effect of low degree of overseas operations and weakens the negative effect of high degree of overseas operations on technological innovation. Furthermore, this study also distinguishes the heterogeneity of industry attributes and subsidiary types.