A New Insight to Control Technology Spillover : – a Case Study of Adidas in China

Abstract: Purpose- Previous literatures focus on  the  technology spillover from multinational companies to local companies. However, the great threats generated from spillover to subsidiaries were omitted. The purpose of this paper is to explore the variables which can help subsidiaries control the technology spillover. Methodology-  First a conceptual model is developed, which will then be used to map out how subsidiaries can control their technology spillover. An Adidas' local representative in China is used during the case study. Findings-  Findings indicate  that there is a possibility to  control  the technology spillover by adopting certain variables. There  are  however,  no omnipotent variables to  stop  the technology spillover. Thus the selection of variables employed needs to consider that products have different attributes. Value- This paper stresses the importance and the very necessity of controlling technology spillovers. Furthermore, it maps influencing variables and tests, whether these variables work in real case.