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The Making of an Innovative Region from a Centrally Planned Economy: Institutional Evolution in Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing

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  • Yu Zhou

    (Department of Geology and Geography, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, USA)

Abstract

Literature on innovation regions has focused mostly on case studies in mature capitalist economies in North America and Europe, generating little knowledge of how innovation may take place in alternative institutional settings or how institutional transformation occurs in regions other than advanced capitalist economies. This paper traces the institutional evolution of Zhongguancun (ZGC), China's most prominent science and technology park, in the northwestern part of Beijing, in its pursuit of becoming China's own ‘Silicon Valley’. Created during the planned economy, ZGC has traveled a radically different trajectory compared with most high-tech regions in advanced countries. Since the mid-1980s, the area has been able to transform itself from a quiet Beijing suburb designated for scientific research and higher education into a bustling hub of global high-tech business. In this paper I examine the changing patterns of behavior and interaction among the Chinese state, Chinese technology firms, and multinational technology corporations during three different stages of ZGC's development, illustrating the possibility of alternative institutional arrangements and the intricacy of institutional transformation. The paper then compares the formal and informal institutional characteristics of ZGC with those of California's Silicon Valley, signifying its strengths and weaknesses for fostering an innovative environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu Zhou, 2005. "The Making of an Innovative Region from a Centrally Planned Economy: Institutional Evolution in Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 37(6), pages 1113-1134, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:37:y:2005:i:6:p:1113-1134
    DOI: 10.1068/a3716
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    Cited by:

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    3. Kinnear, Susan & Ogden, Ian, 2014. "Planning the innovation agenda for sustainable development in resource regions: A central Queensland case study," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 42-53.
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    7. Albahari, Alberto & Pérez-Canto, Salvador & Landoni, Paolo, 2010. "Science and Technology Parks impacts on tenant organisations: a review of literature," MPRA Paper 41914, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Csomós, György & Tóth, Géza, 2016. "Exploring the position of cities in global corporate research and development: A bibliometric analysis by two different geographical approaches," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 516-532.
    9. Yonghua Zou & Wanxia Zhao, 2014. "Anatomy of Tsinghua University Science Park in China: institutional evolution and assessment," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 39(5), pages 663-674, October.
    10. Robert Huggins & Shougui Luo & Piers Thompson, 2014. "The competitiveness of China's Leading Regions: Benchmarking Their Knowledge-based Economies," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(3), pages 241-267, July.
    11. Zhou, Yu, 2008. "Synchronizing Export Orientation with Import Substitution: Creating Competitive Indigenous High-Tech Companies in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2353-2370, November.
    12. Wan-Hsin Liu, 2013. "The role of proximity to universities for corporate patenting: provincial evidence from China," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 51(1), pages 273-308, August.
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    14. Jue Wang & Shaoming Cheng & Sukumar Ganapati, 2012. "Path dependence in regional ICT innovation: Differential evolution of Zhongguancun and Bangalore," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 231-245, August.
    15. Kelsi G. Hobbs & Albert N. Link & John T. Scott, 2017. "Science and technology parks: an annotated and analytical literature review," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 957-976, August.
    16. Reeg, Caroline, 2017. "Spatial development initiatives – potentials, challenges and policy lessons: with a specific outlook for inclusive agrocorridors in Sub-Sahara Africa," IDOS Studies, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), volume 97, number 97.
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    20. Tsu Lung Chou & Chia-Ho Ching & Shu-min Fan & Jung-Ying Chang, 2011. "Global Linkages, the Chinese High-tech Community and Industrial Cluster Development," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(14), pages 3019-3042, November.

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