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China's catching-up in artificial intelligence seen as a co-evolution of corporate and national innovation systems

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  • Lundvall, Bengt-Åke
  • Rikap, Cecilia

Abstract

Inspired by Christopher Freeman's work on how radical technical change opens up for shifts in world leadership and on the role of innovation systems in this process, this paper explores China's emergence as a lead country in artificial intelligence as reflecting a co-evolution of Corporate and National Innovation Systems. Taking Freeman's (1987) work on Japan as our lead, we focus on the domestic interaction within and on the openness of China's national innovation system. To follow up on his prediction of the increasing importance of big companies as network leaders, we introduce the concept “corporate innovation system” with special attention to two Chinese tech giants: Alibaba and Tencent.

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  • Lundvall, Bengt-Åke & Rikap, Cecilia, 2022. "China's catching-up in artificial intelligence seen as a co-evolution of corporate and national innovation systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:51:y:2022:i:1:s0048733321001918
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2021.104395
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    Cited by:

    1. Jinqiu He & Huiwen Su, 2022. "Digital Transformation and Green Innovation of Chinese Firms: The Moderating Role of Regulatory Pressure and International Opportunities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Andrea Coveri & Claudio Cozza & Dario Guarascio, 2023. "Blurring boundaries: an analysis of the digital platforms-military nexus," LEM Papers Series 2023/47, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    3. Wim Naudé, 2023. "Late industrialisation and global value chains under platform capitalism," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 50(1), pages 91-119, March.
    4. Chunyi Shan & Jun Wang & Yongming Zhu, 2023. "The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Economy: An Application of the Potential Dirichlet Allocation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-12, January.
    5. Rikap, Cecilia, 2022. "Becoming an intellectual monopoly by relying on the national innovation system: the State Grid Corporation of China's experience," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(4).
    6. Broekhuizen, Thijs & Dekker, Henri & de Faria, Pedro & Firk, Sebastian & Nguyen, Dinh Khoi & Sofka, Wolfgang, 2023. "AI for managing open innovation: Opportunities, challenges, and a research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    7. Shobande, Olatunji A. & Ogbeifun, Lawrence, 2023. "Pooling cross-sectional and time series data for estimating causality between technological innovation, affluence and carbon dynamics: A comparative evidence from developed and developing countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    8. Su Jung Jee & So Young Sohn, 2023. "Firms’ influence on the evolution of published knowledge when a science-related technology emerges: the case of artificial intelligence," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 209-247, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Catching-up; Corporate innovation system; National innovation system; Christopher Freeman; China; Big tech;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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