Linkages and absorptive capacity of medical device manufacturers

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to expand understanding of knowledge spillovers from productivity linkages between multinational and local companies. It also seeks to identify the relationship between productivity linkages and absorptive capacity. The study applied qualitative case methodology in the medical equipment sector in Costa Rica and Germany. By means of a theoretical model described in the detail in the article body, it was possible to identify how the communication channels, the host country characteristics as well as its institutional framework had an effect in the phenomenon under study. It was possible to identify important facts about the topic studied within this business sector. Likewise, the eight cases under study proved that local companies’ absorptive capacity improved with the knowledge acquired by productive linkages. Implications and recommendations for further company strategy, government efforts, as well as future lines of research on supplier networks’ productivity are formulated.