IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/ijimxx/v20y2016i06ns1363919616500572.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding The Regional Innovation Capacity In China After Economic Reforms

Author

Listed:
  • YING ZHOU

    (School of Business Administration, Nanjing Audit University, Jiangsu, China)

  • SUKANLAYA SAWANG

    (QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)

  • XIAOHUA YANG

    (School of Management, University of San Francisco, California, USA)

Abstract

Our study aims to examine the drivers of China’s regional innovation capacity (RIC). Drawing from innovation system literatures, our study proposes that RIC can be determined by (a) innovation actors (higher education institutions, enterprises, and public research institutes); (b) innovation inputs (financial capital and human resource), and (c) international interactions. The main finding was the significant impact of higher education institutions demonstrating higher education institutions are crucial innovation actors. The interaction effect also found between foreign direct investment (FDI) and Science and Technology (S&T) investment suggests governments should pay more attention to the indirect impact of drivers in building RIC in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Zhou & Sukanlaya Sawang & Xiaohua Yang, 2016. "Understanding The Regional Innovation Capacity In China After Economic Reforms," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(06), pages 1-36, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ijimxx:v:20:y:2016:i:06:n:s1363919616500572
    DOI: 10.1142/S1363919616500572
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1363919616500572
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1142/S1363919616500572?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hu, Mei-Chih & Mathews, John A., 2008. "China's national innovative capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1465-1479, October.
    2. Xiaowen Tian, 2007. "Accounting for sources of FDI technology spillovers: evidence from China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(1), pages 147-159, January.
    3. Spulber, Daniel F., 2008. "Innovation and international trade in technology," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 138(1), pages 1-20, January.
    4. Liu, Zhiqiang, 2002. "Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Spillover: Evidence from China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 579-602, September.
    5. Yan Liang, 2008. "Why Are China's Exports Special?: The Role of FDI, Regional Trade, and Government Policies," Chinese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(6), pages 99-118, November.
    6. P Cooke & M G Uranga & G Etxebarria, 1998. "Regional Systems of Innovation: An Evolutionary Perspective," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 30(9), pages 1563-1584, September.
    7. Hanousek, Jan & Kocenda, Evzen & Maurel, Mathilde, 2011. "Direct and indirect effects of FDI in emerging European markets: A survey and meta-analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 301-322, September.
    8. Carlsson, Bo & Jacobsson, Staffan & Holmen, Magnus & Rickne, Annika, 2002. "Innovation systems: analytical and methodological issues," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 233-245, February.
    9. Jr‐Tsung Huang, 2004. "Spillovers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau Investment and from Other Foreign Investment in Chinese Industries," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 22(1), pages 13-25, January.
    10. Bengt-Åke Lundvall, 2007. "National Innovation Systems—Analytical Concept and Development Tool," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 95-119.
    11. Elisa Barbieri & Marco R. Di Tommaso & Manli Huang, 2009. "Industrial Development Policy and Innovation in Southern China: Government Targets and Firms' Behaviour," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 83-105, September.
    12. Micheal Fritsch & Christian Schwirten, 1999. "Enterprise-University Co-operation and the Role of Public Research Institutions in Regional Innovation Systems," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 69-83.
    13. repec:fth:harver:1473 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Albert G. Z. Hu & Gary H. Jefferson, 2002. "FDI Impact and Spillover: Evidence from China's Electronic and Textile Industries," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(8), pages 1063-1076, August.
    15. Liegsalz, Johannes & Wagner, Stefan, 2013. "Patent examination at the State Intellectual Property Office in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 552-563.
    16. Yih-Chyi Chuang & Pi-Fum Hsu, 2004. "FDI, trade, and spillover efficiency: evidence from China's manufacturing sector," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(10), pages 1103-1115.
    17. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Patent Statistics as Economic Indicators: A Survey," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 287-343, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Hagedoorn, John & Cloodt, Myriam, 2003. "Measuring innovative performance: is there an advantage in using multiple indicators?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1365-1379, September.
    19. Zoltan J. Acs & Luc Anselin & Attila Varga, 2008. "Patents and Innovation Counts as Measures of Regional Production of New Knowledge," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 11, pages 135-151, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Sajid Anwar & Lan Phi Nguyen, 2010. "Foreign direct investment and economic growth in Vietnam," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1-2), pages 183-202, April.
    21. Zoltan J. Acs & David B. Audretsch, 1989. "Patents' Innovative Activity," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 373-376, Oct-Dec.
    22. Simona Iammarino, 2005. "An evolutionary integrated view of Regional Systems of Innovation: Concepts, measures and historical perspectives," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 497-519, June.
    23. Krammer, Sorin M.S., 2009. "Drivers of national innovation in transition: Evidence from a panel of Eastern European countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 845-860, June.
    24. Yongtae Park & Gwangman Park, 2003. "When Does a National Innovation System Start to Exhibit Systemic Behavior?," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 403-414.
    25. Lai, Mingyong & Peng, Shuijun & BAO, Qun, 2006. "Technology spillovers, absorptive capacity and economic growth," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 300-320.
    26. Liu, Zhiqiang, 2008. "Foreign direct investment and technology spillovers: Theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1-2), pages 176-193, February.
    27. Furman, Jeffrey L. & Porter, Michael E. & Stern, Scott, 2002. "The determinants of national innovative capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 899-933, August.
    28. Hui-lin Lin & Eric S. Lin, 2010. "FDI, Trade, and Product Innovation: Theory and Evidence," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 77(2), pages 434-464, October.
    29. Crespo, Nuno & Fontoura, Maria Paula, 2007. "Determinant Factors of FDI Spillovers - What Do We Really Know?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 410-425, March.
    30. Hu, Mei-Chih & Mathews, John A., 2005. "National innovative capacity in East Asia," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 1322-1349, November.
    31. Xiaolan Fu, 2008. "Foreign Direct Investment, Absorptive Capacity and Regional Innovation Capabilities: Evidence from China," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 89-110.
    32. Li, Xiaoying & Liu, Xiaming & Parker, David, 2001. "Foreign direct investment and productivity spillovers in the Chinese manufacturing sector," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 305-321, December.
    33. Michael Fritsch, 2002. "Measuring the Quality of Regional Innovation Systems: A Knowledge Production Function Approach," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 25(1), pages 86-101, January.
    34. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    35. Liu, Xiaohui & Wang, Chenggang, 2003. "Does foreign direct investment facilitate technological progress?: Evidence from Chinese industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 945-953, June.
    36. Mathews, John A. & Hu, Mei-Chih, 2007. "Enhancing the Role of Universities in Building National Innovative Capacity in Asia: The Case of Taiwan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 1005-1020, June.
    37. Erik Baark, 2007. "Knowledge and Innovation in China: Historical Legacies and Emerging Institutions," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 337-356, July.
    38. David Doloreux, 2003. "Regional Innovation Systems In The Periphery: The Case Of The Beauce In Québec (Canada)," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(01), pages 67-94.
    39. C. Freeman, 2004. "Technological infrastructure and international competitiveness," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 13(3), pages 541-569, June.
    40. Éric Archambault, 2002. "Methods for using patents in cross-country comparisons," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 54(1), pages 15-30, April.
    41. Nigel Driffield & James H Love, 2007. "Linking FDI motivation and host economy productivity effects: conceptual and empirical analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(3), pages 460-473, May.
    42. Christine Oliver, 1997. "The Influence of Institutional and Task Environment Relationships on Organizational Performance: The Canadian Construction Industry," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 99-124, January.
    43. Li, Xibao, 2009. "China's regional innovation capacity in transition: An empirical approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 338-357, March.
    44. Liu, Xiaohui & Zou, Huan, 2008. "The impact of greenfield FDI and mergers and acquisitions on innovation in Chinese high-tech industries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 352-364, July.
    45. Zoltan J. Acs & David B. Audretsch, 1989. "Patents as a Measure of Innovative Activity," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 171-180, August.
    46. Peter J Buckley & Jeremy Clegg & Chengqi Wang, 2002. "The Impact of Inward FDI on the Performance of Chinese Manufacturing Firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(4), pages 637-655, December.
    47. Jon Zabala-Iturriagagoitia & Peter Voigt & Antonio Gutierrez-Gracia & Fernando Jimenez-Saez, 2007. "Regional Innovation Systems: How to Assess Performance," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(5), pages 661-672.
    48. Fu, Xiaolan & Gong, Yundan, 2011. "Indigenous and Foreign Innovation Efforts and Drivers of Technological Upgrading: Evidence from China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1213-1225, July.
    49. Acs, Zoltan J & Audretsch, David B, 1989. "Patents as a Measure of Innovative Activity," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 171-180.
    50. Albert G. Z. Hu & Gary H. Jefferson & Qian Jinchang, 2005. "R&D and Technology Transfer: Firm-Level Evidence from Chinese Industry," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(4), pages 780-786, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yuandi Wang & Lutao Ning & Jian Li & Martha Prevezer, 2016. "Foreign Direct Investment Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation in Chinese Regions: The Role of Regional Industrial Specialization and Diversity," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(5), pages 805-822, May.
    2. Li, Jian & Strange, Roger & Ning, Lutao & Sutherland, Dylan, 2016. "Outward foreign direct investment and domestic innovation performance: Evidence from China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1010-1019.
    3. Li, Xibao, 2009. "China's regional innovation capacity in transition: An empirical approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 338-357, March.
    4. Burhan, Muqbil & Singh, Anil K. & Jain, Sudhir K., 2017. "Patents as proxy for measuring innovations: A case of changing patent filing behavior in Indian public funded research organizations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 181-190.
    5. Neil Foster-McGregor, 2012. "Innovation and Technology Transfer across Countries," wiiw Research Reports 380, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    6. Li, Xibao, 2011. "Sources of External Technology, Absorptive Capacity, and Innovation Capability in Chinese State-Owned High-Tech Enterprises," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1240-1248, July.
    7. Ning, Lutao & Wang, Fan & Li, Jian, 2016. "Urban innovation, regional externalities of foreign direct investment and industrial agglomeration: Evidence from Chinese cities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 830-843.
    8. Jiao, Hao & Zhou, Jianghua & Gao, Taishan & Liu, Xielin, 2016. "The more interactions the better? The moderating effect of the interaction between local producers and users of knowledge on the relationship between R&D investment and regional innovation systems," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 13-20.
    9. Anwar, Sajid & Sun, Sizhong, 2014. "Heterogeneity and curvilinearity of FDI-related productivity spillovers in China's manufacturing sector," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 23-32.
    10. Dziallas, Marisa & Blind, Knut, 2019. "Innovation indicators throughout the innovation process: An extensive literature analysis," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 80, pages 3-29.
    11. Chongfeng Wang & Gupeng Zhang, 2019. "Examining the moderating effect of technology spillovers embedded in the intra- and inter-regional collaborative innovation networks of China," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(2), pages 561-593, May.
    12. Chen, Kaihua & Guan, Jiancheng, 2011. "Mapping the functionality of China's regional innovation systems: A structural approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 11-27, March.
    13. Guan, Jiancheng & Chen, Kaihua, 2012. "Modeling the relative efficiency of national innovation systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 102-115.
    14. Klaus E Meyer & Evis Sinani, 2009. "When and where does foreign direct investment generate positive spillovers? A meta-analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(7), pages 1075-1094, September.
    15. Chen Kaihua & Kou Mingting, 2014. "Staged efficiency and its determinants of regional innovation systems: a two-step analytical procedure," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 52(2), pages 627-657, March.
    16. Paul J.J. Welfens & Tian Xiong, 2018. "The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment on Regional Innovation Capacity in China," EIIW Discussion paper disbei247, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    17. Jianghua Zhou & Rui Wu & Jizhen Li, 2019. "More ties the merrier? Different social ties and firm innovation performance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 445-471, June.
    18. Proksch, Dorian & Haberstroh, Marcus Max & Pinkwart, Andreas, 2017. "Increasing the national innovative capacity: Identifying the pathways to success using a comparative method," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 256-270.
    19. Hong, Jin & Feng, Bing & Wu, Yanrui & Wang, Liangbing, 2016. "Do government grants promote innovation efficiency in China's high-tech industries?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 57, pages 4-13.
    20. Sleuwaegen, Leo & Boiardi, Priscilla, 2014. "Creativity and regional innovation: Evidence from EU regions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1508-1522.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wsi:ijimxx:v:20:y:2016:i:06:n:s1363919616500572. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tai Tone Lim (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.worldscinet.com/ijim/ijim.shtml .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.