The role of the network coordinator in the attraction of foreign investment in R&D: The case of the Brazilian oil and gas industry

This analyses recent R&D investments undertaken by transnational equipment and service suppliers in Brazil, trying to identify their motives and to capture the role played by international market characteristics and the main technology players in Brazil. Three main features attracted these companies’ R&D investments to Brazil: the size of the pre-salt oil and gas fields, Petrobras’ accumulated capabilities and the existent of qualified personnel. This paper shows that companies follow different strategies. FMC adopts an asset-exploiting strategy while Baker Hughes and Schlumberger follow more of an asset-augmenting strategy. The paper then argues that the role of the network coordinator and its technological capabilities are central to the location of suppliers’ R&D investments.