Success factors for upgrading and innovation in the electronics industry

An analysis of private small and medium-sized enterprises in the Pearl River Delta

authored by

Arman Peighambari, Stefan Hennemann, Ingo Liefner

Abstract

China's quest for innovation and upgrading has motivated a growing number of analyses of innovation and upgrading processes, their main drivers and typical outcomes in China. Most of these studies are concerned with large foreign-invested and state-owned firms. They have found integration into global production networks (GPN) as well as strong governmental support to be important success factors. In contrast, little has been published about the innovation and upgrading behaviour of private small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper addresses the upgrading of private SMEs based on a sample from the electronics industry of the Pearl River Delta (PRD). We find that a number of success factors usually assumed to stimulate upgrading in China have no influence. These include GPN integration, government contacts and other inter-personal linkages. The upgrading of private SMEs can instead be best explained through a focus on the growing domestic market, overcoming typical resource constraints and a reliance on internal capabilities.

External Organisation(s)

Justus Liebig University Giessen

Type

Article

Journal

International Journal of Technology Management

Volume

65

Pages

49-69

No. of pages

21

ISSN

0267-5730

Publication date

21.05.2014

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Industrial relations, Engineering(all), Computer Science Applications, Strategy and Management, Law

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2014.060950 (Access: Closed)