Academician to entrepreneur: Impact of globalization on science and technology policies in China and India
Journal of Science and Technology Policy in China
ISSN: 1758-552X
Article publication date: 1 March 2011
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review and compare the changing science and technology policy orientation during the 1990s for both China and India in the process of globalization. In this concern, it seeks to understand the changed orientations of the scientists from the purely academic mode to academic‐entrepreneurial hybrid mode to build up strong national innovations systems in both the countries and present the detailed findings of a sample survey of bio‐scientists in China and India.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper makes an analytical review of changing science and technology policies in India and China in the global context by taking into consideration the government documents, reports and research papers, and presents the findings of the sample survey carried by the author, through interviews and questionnaire study of bio‐scientists in India and China.
Findings
The developments clearly indicate the changing structural and institutional context of scientific research in an entrepreneurial mode to build up strong national innovation systems (NIS) in both the countries. This is supported by the findings of the survey on the orientations of bio‐scientists in China and India with reference to the changed situation since 1990. It shows that majority of the scientists are of the opinion that equal importance should be given to exploration of knowledge as well as commercialization. In this new environment, scientist academician is slowly being metamorphosed into scientist entrepreneur but with a dual task to strengthen the NIS. The concept of scientist entrepreneur, in the present environment, is well placed in both the countries, although still under experimentation.
Originality/value
In the present context of globalization and growing international competition, the introduction of market cultures in the Chinese and the Indian economies is fast changing the orientation of the scientific communities in both the countries to perform the dual task of knowledge generation as well as commercialization in order to meet national socio‐economic objectives. This has not been studied before. The present paper tries to understand the ongoing metamorphosis of the academician to entrepreneur for long‐term sustainability of the NIS in India and China.
Keywords
Citation
Kharbanda, V.P. (2011), "Academician to entrepreneur: Impact of globalization on science and technology policies in China and India", Journal of Science and Technology Policy in China, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 7-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/17585521111107870
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited