Global competition emerges with a greater need for faster innovations. R&D plays an essential role in the elaboration of new products and processes in an even shorter period. As the access to resources and knowledge inside the own country borders are restricted, firms start to go abroad looking for other options of R&D. This way, international R&D partnerships arise as an important theme for theory and practice. Through a systematic literature review of 31 papers published in management

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... from 2002 to 2014, this study brings two streams of the literature. First, a description of the main concepts in international R&D partnerships. Second, the best practices for the theme proposed and the gaps in the area's knowledge. This paper contributes to both practitioners and literature by providing a research agenda with seven themes for future research, regarding in-depth studies, secondary data analysis, measure proposal and managerial implications.