Abstract: Chinese outward investment is particularly focused on the science and technology sector, and multinational companies (MNCs) have innovatively advanced the practice by extensively establishing multinational R&D centers. Multinational R&D centers are able to transfer advanced knowledge back to the parent company, a process known as reverse knowledge transfer (RKT) in the field of academic research. Throughout the academic research on RKT, there is little literature on whether RKT contributes to long-term innovation performance, and most studies focus on the host country context from the subsidiary's perspective, ignoring the importance of the home country context element. Innovation is an important development strategy for MNCs, and whether Chinese MNCs can effectively utilize RKT to enhance long-term innovation performance has attracted much attention. Based on the knowledge base theory and institutional theory, we construct a theoretical framework. A sample of 190 Chinese MNCs questionnaire survey data is used to match relevant indicators from the World Bank's 2006 report Government Governance, Investment Environment and Harmonious Society: A Report on the Competitiveness of 120 Chinese Cities. The variable relationships are revealed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). It is found that RKT by Chinese MNCs can promote long-term innovation performance, dual unions play an intermediary role, and a favorable institutional environment is conducive to the development of the process. The more RKT, the more frequent interaction and communication between multinational R&D centers and parent companies, and the more opportunities for parent companies to carry out knowledge sharing in the long run. This rich source of knowledge across borders creates a future-oriented innovation environment for the parent company. In this process, dual association plays a mediating role between RKT and long-term innovation performance, while the mediating role of dual balance is not significant. This suggests that organizational learning can lay the foundation for enhancing long-term innovation performance and that Chinese MNCs place more emphasis on the overall effect of exploitative and exploratory learning rather than on the balanced development of different learning styles. The exploration of the institutional context in the home country suggests that Chinese MNCs located in regions with a better institutional environment and institutional efficiency can have legitimacy and policy support for RKT and are more willing to innovate in the long run. Not only the positive effect on dual association is more pronounced, but also further contributes to long-term innovation performance. The paper reveals the positive role of RKT in enhancing long-term innovation performance and the importance of institutional context in it, deepening innovation research and institutional theory in MNC management. This study clarifies the positive role of RKT in enhancing long-term innovation performance, while discovering the mediating effect of dual association in it, and illustrates that the aggregate utility of exploitative and exploratory learning is particularly important for achieving long-term innovation performance of RKT. Consideration of the home country's institutional context highlights the importance of a favorable institutional environment for Chinese MNCs to cultivate long-term competitive advantage. Not only does it complement research on the use of external knowledge for innovation in developing countries, but it also further expands the application of institutional theory in international business.

摘要： 创新是跨国公司的重要发展战略，中国跨国公司能否有效利用逆向知识转移提升长期创新绩效备受关注。基于知识基础理论和制度理论，构建“逆向知识转移-组织双元学习-长期创新绩效”的理论框架，运用190份中国跨国公司调查数据和结构方程模型进行了检验。研究发现，逆向知识转移可以直接促进长期创新绩效的实现，也可以通过双元联合的中介作用提升长期创新绩效。并且，母国制度情境在其中发挥了重要作用。当母公司所处地区制度环境更好时，逆向知识转移对双元联合积极作用更大，也进一步促进了长期创新绩效的提升。研究结论对跨国公司创新研究形成补充并拓展了制度理论在其中的应用，为中国跨国公司长期创新发展和培养竞争优势提供了理论依据。