IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jtecht/v50y2025i3d10.1007_s10961-024-10135-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How latecomers realize “going global” through technological catch-up: a longitudinal case study

Author

Listed:
  • Yu You

    (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Yun Liu

    (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Ruixue Zhao

    (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

The intricate relationship between technological catch-up and outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in developing nations, exemplified by China, stands as a cutting-edge area within the domain of enterprise innovation and internationalization. While an extensive body of literature focuses on elucidating how latecomers can effectively achieve technological catch-up through overseas investment and mergers and acquisitions, enabling them to acquire advanced technology and valuable experience, comparatively less attention has been given to examining the mechanisms by which technological catch-up propels the OFDI process of enterprises. To address this gap, this study conducts a longitudinal case analysis of the “going global” trajectory of CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. (CRRC-ZL), transitioning from a follower to a leading industry player. By synthesizing the concepts of technological catch-up with the Ownership, Location, and Internalization (OLI) paradigm, we construct a comprehensive model elucidating the internal processes propelling enterprises towards technological catch-up and subsequent “going global.” This research builds a bridge from technology catch-up to OFDI for latecomer companies, offering valuable managerial insights for latecomers navigating the strategic challenges of advancing beyond catch-up and entering international markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu You & Yun Liu & Ruixue Zhao, 2025. "How latecomers realize “going global” through technological catch-up: a longitudinal case study," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 1269-1296, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:50:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10961-024-10135-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10961-024-10135-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10961-024-10135-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10961-024-10135-0?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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technological catch-up; The OLI paradigm; OFDI; Internationalization; Longitudinal case study;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:kap:jtecht:v:50:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10961-024-10135-0. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.