Technology management in China

Citation

Wu, T.M.-B.a.W. (2014), "Technology management in China", Chinese Management Studies, Vol. 8 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/CMS-07-2014-0132

Technology management in China

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Chinese Management Studies, Volume 8, Issue 2

Dear colleague,

We are delighted to bring you a selection of papers for this special issue of Chinese Management Studies. Together, these studies provide a topical insight into the development of technology management in China. The first paper in this issue, by Wu et al., regarding the order parameter of technology capability and technology management within the telecommunications industry, provides a compelling and influential understanding of the significance of technology management and government support for industrial development within China.

In China, ties are a deeply ingrained institution and provide a pervasive means to conduct commerce (#B5; #B1; #B3). The effects of ties are also explored in the context of technology management. Wu explores the relationship among business intermediaries, international venturing and product innovation of new Chinese ventures in knowledge-intensive business services, finding that the intensity of intermediary ties positively influences new ventures’ product innovation, and their relationship is moderated by the degree of their international venturing and ties with other firms. Chen focuses on managerial ties and their effects on radical innovation. He provides some interesting hypotheses with respect to governmental risk-sharing in times of both demand uncertainty and technology turbulence, and there is also the embedded pre-supposition that firm age (maturity) has a strong influence on levels of innovation. Issues related to the tension in apparent prevailing Western management thought regarding incremental and/or radical innovation stemming from incumbent industrial firms compared to young, new and start-up companies have been captured by highly cited papers in the Journal of Marketing since the turn of the millennium, and this stream of academic consciousness is still worthy of review by readers.

Environmental turbulence is a theme revisited in this special issue by Guo and Wang, the conclusions of which are indicative of a more "opportunistic" mentality on the part of decision-makers when turbulence is high. This result could, at first, seem logically perverse, but under environmental turbulence, opportunities are more likely to be scarce and considered a more valuable commodity to be seized, supported by heightened informational assurance. In addition, readers should refer to the Chinese cultural context and references within the paper to tolerance of ambiguity (#B2; #B6).

This special issue also brings to readers two papers that are based on case studies. Fang et al. studies a Chinese telecommunications manufacturing enterprise to identify the core elements of innovation for standardization. They contribute to technology management by exploring the interfaces of innovation–standardization. Tang et al. takes a focused look at an indigenous small enterprise in China’s nanotechnology materials sector, examining the interplay of firm strategy, innovation and the business environment as firms grow and expand. They propose a "spin-in" model for innovation of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which emphasizes the role of enterprises rather than universities.

In considering these research studies and the insights contained therein, it is also important to note that business classifications of SMEs vary across global regions, and this can affect readers’ generalizations, interpretations and managerial implications, given that firm size is often taken as a control variable. In the European Union, SMEs are defined as having 250 employees or fewer, alongside annual turnover ceilings. In Canada, SMEs are defined as having less than 500 employees, and in the People’s Republic of China, they are defined as having smaller than 2,000 employees, with revenue and asset ceilings.

Clearly, it should be remembered that the development of Chinese management, as extolled in Chinese Management Studies, provides reflection for management research and practices generally, for it is from understanding the difference that we may better reflect on ourselves. We trust that these works prove illustrative in their own contexts and with regard to managerial and policy implications as well as providing reflection for different global and managerial contexts.

Tim McIntyre-Bhatty

Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK, and

Weiwei Wu

School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China

References

Batjargal, B. and Liu, M. (2004), "Entrepreneurs’ access to private equity in China: the role of social capital", Organization Science, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 159-172.

Bhagat, R.S., Kedia, B.L., Harveston, P.D. and Triandis, H.C. (2002), "Cultural variations in the cross-border transfer of organizational knowledge: an integrative framework", Academy of Management Review, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 204-221.

Boisot, M. and Child, J. (1999), "Organizations as adaptive systems in complex environments: the case of China", Organization Science, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 237-252.

Li, J.J., Poppo, L. and Zhou, K.Z. (2008), "Do managerial ties in China always produce value? Competition, uncertainty, and domestic vs. foreign firms", Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 383-400.

Qing, X. (2008), "The culture relativity in the knowledge flow: an integrative framework in the Chinese context", Chinese Management Studies, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 109-121.

Further reading

Cetindamar, D., Phaal, R. and Probert, D. (2009), "Understanding technology management as a dynamic capability: a framework for technology management activities", Technovation, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 237-246.

Corresponding author

Tim McIntyre-Bhatty can be contacted at: mailto:tmcintyre-bhatty@bournemouth.ac.uk