本研究計畫之目的，係探討被投資國之智慧財產權保護程度對於跨國公司投資設立海外 子公司之營運模式與股權結構的影響，試圖提出理論模型補足現有文獻之不足，並做為 跨國企業擬定策略與開發中國家制定相關政策的參考。到目前為止，雖有少數文獻探討 智慧財產權與海外子公司股權結構的關係，但這些研究均假設投資模式為水平投資，然 而此一假設並不符合現實狀況，且可能造成實證分析上誤判智慧財產權保護程度對跨國 公司投資策略的影響，換言之，現有文獻並未討論若考慮垂直相關市場時，且跨國公司 可同時選擇其海外投資的方式與股權結構，被投資國的智慧財產權保護如何影響其決 策。本研究主題之經濟邏輯乃由不同營運模式導致不同程度技術外溢的角度切入，並考 量上下游市場之間的連結，分析跨國企業如何因應被投資國不同的智慧財產權保護程 度，從而擬定其最適營運策略以取得技術外溢損失、節省投資成本和降低競爭程度三方 面的平衡。研究的成果有助於企業擬定投資策略，也可作為政府擬定智慧財產權政策的 參考。 The purpose of this research is to investigate how intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection influences multinational firms’ choice in ownership structure and FDI type. This research is worthy of study since it has important policy implications for IPR protection as well as economic development. Although several articles have discussed the relationship between IPR protection and ownership structure, however, they solely focus on FDI in the final goods market. Yet, the ownership structure and types of FDI (vertical FDI or horizontal FDI) in the host country could be highly correlated and are jointly affected by IPR strength. To my best knowledge, existing studies explore either the relationship between IPR and ownership structure or the nexus between IPR and types of FDI, but not both. When we investigate the impact of IPR on multinational firms’ FDI behavior, ignoring either decision (ownership and FDI type) could be problematic because the choice of ownership structure is very likely to be dependent on the choice of FDI type and vice versa. However, theories that simultaneously investigate the nexus between IPR, ownership structure and FDI in vertically related market are still absent. Therefore, this research project aims to develop a theoretical model that helps us have a better understanding about the nexus between FDI decision and IPR protection. Upon completion, this research will be helpful for business strategies as well as welfare-enhancing IPR policy reform.
