3The Knowledge Capital in Global Networks
In this chapter, we study knowledge capital formation and appropriation in global networks. Here, the two parallel and contradictory processes of socialization and appropriation of knowledge capital are revealed and confronted. First of all, we present the various stages in the globalization of the company’s strategy and in particular the globalization of their R&D activities. Network firms are spinning their web around the world in order to collect scientific and technical resources that will enrich their knowledge capital (section 3.1). In this context, the issue of protecting this core element of their strategy is thus reinforced. In this regard, intellectual property rights (IPRs) have been considered as key tools, nevertheless they have also been at the center of controversy, associated with their traditional roles of protection and of incentive to innovate, and their impacts in terms of the construction of barriers to entry. We study these conflicting roles from two perspectives, multi-partner innovation and the extension of IPRs at the global level and to new areas. They appear not only as instruments of coordination, but also as tools used to create a hierarchy of actors within networks (section 3.2).
3.1. The constitution of knowledge capital within global networks
The last three decades have borne witness to profound changes in the behavior of multinational firms. Today, their international activities concern not only trade ...