The innovativeness and heterogeneity of foreign-invested high-tech companies in Shanghai

authored by

Ingo Liefner, Yehua Dennis Wei, Gang Zeng

Abstract

China has taken a foreign direct investment-based approach toward increasing its capital and knowledge base, and developing into an innovative economy. However, little quantitative evidence exists about the factors that drive innovations of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) there. This paper uses survey data from high-technology firms in Shanghai to discuss factors affecting their innovativeness. It takes the concepts of absorptive capacity, export orientation, and innovation-related cooperation as a starting point. It highlights how the interplay of strategies and resources affects innovativeness and heterogeneity of FIEs. The most innovative FIEs are endowed with a strong human capital base and R&D activities, which at the same time target export markets and whose cooperative partners involve firms other than their parent company. The results underline the necessity to differentiate between the different types of FIEs when examining their innovativeness.

External Organisation(s)

Justus Liebig University Giessen
University of Utah
East China Normal University

Type

Article

Journal

Growth and change

Volume

44

Pages

522-549

No. of pages

28

ISSN

0017-4815

Publication date

23.08.2013

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Global and Planetary Change

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.12018 (Access: Closed)