Recent developments in information technologies, especially Web 2.0 technologies, have radically transformed many markets through disintermediation and decentralization. Lower barriers of entry in these markets enable small firms and individuals to engage in transactions that were otherwise...

This thesis groups three papers examining the role of multi-location firms in the geographic diffusion of knowledge. The first chapter examines whether a firm's headquarters can tap into the knowledge pool in a remote location through FDI. Using U.S. patent data, I show that an R&D headquarters...