The national system of innovation defines the innovation strategy of a firm in that country.

Technology and innovation are not evenly distributed globally, and are not easily packaged and transferred across regions or firms.

The position of firms in developing economies in international value chains prevent them from capturing the benefits of their innovation and entrepreneurship.

Firms from smaller countries such as the UK, Sweden or Netherlands tend to have higher shares of foreign innovative activities.

Matching global knowledge networks with the localized launching of major innovations will require increasing international mobility amongst technical personnel, and the increasing use of multinational teams in launching innovations.

The importance of external sources of technical and market knowledge is a key factor influencing the decision where to locate R&D globally.

Knowledge of how to replicate competitors’ product and process innovations is much easier now with development in IT.

Knowledge obtained through market transactions such as contract manufacturing and licensing, and reverse engineering can help firms in emerging economies to catch up.

Managers report that the most important methods of learning about competitors’ innovations are proven methods such as Delphi-studies and patent analysis.

The strategic importance to corporations of home countries’ technological competencies matters little because they are all more or less the same.