The present article compares the technological performance of United States enterprises in Brazil and South Korea. This analysis is based on the differences between the industrialization models in these countries. While Brazilian industrialization was based on the attraction of multinational companies, South Korea historically based its development on the support of national companies and limited Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) until the 1990s. It concludes that opening to foreign capital is not enough to stimulate the attraction of technological activities. Other factors, as sectorial structure, technological development of national firms and strong national system of innovation are essential to stimulate technological performance of foreign enterprises.