The multinational enterprise as a vehicle of institutional and technological change in the global economy

Abstract

This dissertation examines the role of institutional and technological change in economic development, challenging the overly optimistic view of their positive impact on a country's economy. By integrating institutional theory and innovation studies, a theoretical framework is developed to explain the complex interrelationship between institutional, technological and economic development. Based on this framework, the possibility of developmental deadlocks is explained by the occurrence of transactional and technological uncertainty. To overcome this uncertainty, multinational enterprises are introduced as influential global actors that can trigger institutional and technological change. Through international business (IB) theory, MNEs are operationalized as agents of change capable of driving development by transferring technologies and business practices to host countries, potentially overcoming barriers to development. The three essays in this thesis look at how institutions and technologies have co-evolved in the past and how multinational enterprises can steer the direction of this evolution in terms of economic development. By focusing on green patents and reforms as well as artificial intelligence as part of the institutional and technological dimensions, the thesis applies the theoretical framework to highly relevant issues of today, adding to our understanding of how changes in the institutional and technological environment can be introduced and why they will have different developmental outcomes depending on the uncertainty that arises.