Multinational enterprises’ innovation teams and the paradox of global cities

Firms often establish linkages to geographically dispersed locations to source diversified knowledge. Not all locations offer similar opportunities for knowledge sourcing. We investigate the relationship between global city locations and the spatial distribution of knowledge networks. Building on literature suggesting that global cities exhibit both properties of local clustering and global bridging, we investigate whether the leverage of global city locations is associated with a lower or higher spatial distribution of knowledge networks. Using data on USPTO patents between 1990 and 2015, our preliminary analyses highlight the critical role of the global city profile and the characteristics of the innovative organization that coordinates the network.