Strategies for Managing Exploration, Global Value Chains, and Knowledge Flows in High-Technology Firms

Abstract

This dissertation comprises three essays of a multilevel investigation into the strategies of high-technology firms to build and maintain competitive advantage through effective policies for innovation, global sourcing, and knowledge management. Through a combination of conceptual and empirical analyses that extend the existing theoretical boundaries in each of these areas, I contribute to our current body of knowledge and establish a solid foundation on which future related research will be built. In particular, I weave together classic and contemporary literature of strategic management, entrepreneurship, international business, and organizational economics to reveal how macro- and micro-level factors impact the activities selected, tradeoffs made, and performance of firms in regional and global settings.