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This paper aims to assess the comparative position of the national innovation system of Chinese state entrepreneurship versus liberal market entrepreneurship. Based on the comparative institutional framework, it asks whether Chinese state entrepreneurship has a comparative disadvantage because of its incoherent institutions in liberal or coordinated economies. Hence, does the Chinese institutional system of innovation lag behind that of US or liberal countries of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies in the transformation of national science into economic products measured as high-technology exports?

This study uses panel data analysis based on 29 OECD economies and the Chinese economy over 23 years. Regarding national science productivity (explorative capabilities), it includes published and patented science streams; regarding technological transformation (exploitative capabilities), it measures the percentage of high-technology exports in gross domestic product (GDP). The interactions between the types of entrepreneurship and national science institutions serve as predictors in the design.

The results show that Chinese state entrepreneurship has a comparative advantage over liberal economies in published science. However, Chinese state entrepreneurship has a comparative disadvantage compared to liberal entrepreneurship in patent science. Regarding the dyadic level of comparability between the national economies, there are mixed results in the transformation of national science.

This study supports the three following theoretical points: national institutions differ regardless of the pressure of convergence through globalization; national science contingencies influence different paths of the transformation of national science to technology; and mixed economies, such as state entrepreneurship, can achieve high performance without fully conforming to liberal markets.

This study emphasizes institutional mechanisms for future research to support the innovation of incoherent institutions and suggests the benefit of cross-pollination of senior managers between state and private organizations for a defined duration.

Theoretically, this research combines an interdisciplinary and interinstitutional level of analysis, and in so doing, it deals with the transformation of national science in scientific publications and patents in the vertical value chain. Empirically, this study links the national published and patented science with the national economic artifacts in high-technology sectors. This novel approach to assess the national and discipline-level interaction sets a context for the future research in other settings. It also informs policy decisions regarding the growth of science, innovation and development.

The purpose of this paper is to manifest how intellectual capital statement (ICS) adapts the Chinese management scenario. ICS has become a key management instrument for securing competitiveness and sustainable growth in European small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, if the approach rooted in Europe can have a good effect in China is still unknown.

The paper analyzes the reasons why ICS appears in Europe on a macro-level including innovation culture, innovation policy and innovation paths. These aspects are also characterized for China to describe the Chinese management scenario and innovation environment. Further, the paper divides ICS into three parts: model layer, indicators layer and operating layer on a micro-level. For the management scenario of China, it explains the adaptation of the three layers for application in a Chinese context.

The innovation culture, innovation policy and innovation paths are different in Europe and China. Therefore, the applications of model, indicator and operating layers of ICS are also different in China. The paper indicates that it needs some adjustments when applying ICS in Chinese enterprises.

There are no application practices of ICS in China until now, so the analysis of this paper is based on the theoretical level. Moreover, in the part of innovation culture, the paper is limited to comparing the cultures of Germany and China.

This is the first paper which investigates the application of ICS in China.

Nowadays, China's economy is climbing up the value curve, transitioning from the low-cost manufacturing of basic products to the assembly of high-tech products and more recently to innovation-led growth. This article gives an overview of this dynamic. The authors first give a succinct historical perspective, then describe the present situation; lastly they look at issues for the near future. The authors contend that Western firms cannot afford to be absent from the paradigm shift described in the paper. Foreign R&D in China no longer has emerging status.

The article builds on a review of the literature, statistical data and field experience in different Chinese technological hot spots (including Shanghai Zhangjiang, Beijing Zhongguancun, and Suzhou high-tech parks).

The article highlights five areas where technical change has taken place in China. The assembled facts depict the constitution of a credible Chinese system of innovation. Examples of recent accomplishments in different industries argue for the sustainability of these advances.

This paper can be considered as an essay reflecting the authors' understanding of the Chinese situation; as such, it may be subjectively biased.

The paper provides arguments for Western managers to convince decision makers of China's new role on the innovation and R&D map; Western managers should definitely be part of this move.

The paper highlights a major change: China is still a low-tech country; but it has developed world-class islands of knowledge for innovation and technology creation.

Chinese S&T parks are one component of the Chinese system of innovation which has emerged over the last 20 years; they are not simply a copy‐paste of the American model. This paper aims to focus on this topic.

Developments were inferred from an extensive literature review (in English, in Chinese and in French) that was completed by an archive research as well as interviews of heads of Chinese S&T parks.

Six features make Chinese S&T parks different from what can be found elsewhere in the world: the Chinese people have the willingness to restore previous glory and share of the world economy; the Chinese government apparatus acts as the driving force with an overpowering impact; there are very few foreign companies in Chinese S&T parks – making those parks mostly inhabited by Chinese companies, but returnees play a significant role; an astonishing scale when benchmarked to European references; the greening of business has emerged as a new and powerful driver; and an evolutionary process is leading to the transformation of China into an innovative country.

This paper stands more as an essay reflecting the authors' understanding of the Chinese situation and, as such, it may be subjectively biased.

As Western managers are now considering China as a possible place to carry R&D, this paper helps them to get a better understanding of the features of the specific locations where they might implement their R&D labs.

The emergence of China as a technological country is a recent phenomenon. The authors have identified no such analysis in the published literature.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the limitations of the national system of innovation (NSI) approach in countries in developing economies with at best incomplete sets of market institutions.

This paper employed a grounded theory approach using semi‐structured interviews to explore a case study of one industry segment (the IC design industry segment) in one developing economy, China.

This paper argues that developing countries have institutions beyond the national system that can affect science and technology activities. Owing to co‐ethnic transnational technology networks and the politics of finance, China's firms experience distinct patterns of performance not explained by the NSI framework. A particular type of foreign firm, the hybrid foreign‐invested enterprise, combines foreign finance with commitment to China to drive China's technological development. Other firms, particularly those closely tied to the Chinese state, contribute less or even negatively to China's development. Strong ties to the state in the context of China actually undermine the incentive for innovation.

This paper deconstructs both NSI and the idea of national political economies more broadly. The paper also offers value in presenting a detailed case study of on‐the‐ground innovation and upgrading in China.

Only a few foreign companies have started significant R&D activities in China. Although these forerunners have opened the door, their experience now needs to be transferred to followers. The purpose of this paper is to use this experience to offer some guidance to foreign companies wishing to launch R&D activities in China.

The authors’ recommendations are based on their investigation into 50 existing foreign R&D centers in China and one pioneering experience into the management of one of those centers. The authors especially investigated the questions of location, people and intellectual property rights, and relationships with authorities.

Foreign companies wishing to do R&D in China will have to adapt to an environment different from those they are used to. The authors draw up recommendations that should help them to find their way. They particularly emphasize location in or close to clusters, the type of relationships to be developed with public authorities and with the communist party, the specific characteristics needed by workers in those centers, the need for a cautious intellectual property rights approach and the key role of returnees in R&D centers. These findings are based on previous experience and lessons learned directly by the authors as well as through meetings with R&D executives and managers of medium/large foreign companies or joint ventures s in China.

The Chinese research, development and innovation landscape has evolved rapidly and has still not stabilized. Consequently, the authors’ recommendations, which capture best practices and recently learned lessons, are applicable for the next five years. Some of them might change in the future as the overall national and international situation evolves.

These recommendations offer guidelines to companies without R&D centers established in China for expanding their international technology strategy. They will help companies already operating successful R&D centers to better leverage previous investments and efficiently set up and operate R&D activities in China.

China has been on the R&D map for only a few years as exemplified by the surge of scientific publications and patent deposits, making China the country with the most patents in the world. No foreign company engaged in R&D can ignore this fact. Yet, few papers have been published with “how to?” guidelines.

For the studies whose purposes are to evaluate the relationship between industrial characteristics and innovation activities of the enterprises, there are some limitations in the measures of industrial characteristics and using traditional statistical techniques. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities within Chinese high-tech industries using grey system theory. The research results show that grey system theory is suitable to investigate the relationship between industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities within Chinese high-tech industries.

This paper proposes the measures of industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities of high-tech enterprises. First, based on the data on Chinese large and medium-sized high-tech enterprises for the period of 2011-2013, this paper applies grey relational analysis to identify the relatively most important indexes on affecting innovation capabilities of Chinese high-tech enterprises. Second, based on the results from grey relational analysis, this study draws a ranking of the five Chinese high-tech industries in terms of innovation capabilities by grey decision making. Finally, based on the results from grey decision making, this study applies GM (0, N) model to investigate the relationship between industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities within Chinese high-tech industries.

The results of this study show that in the evaluation indexes system of innovation capabilities of high-tech enterprises, personnel in R & D institutions, R & D personnel, internal expenditure on R & D, expenditure on new product development, expenditure on technology imports, expenditure on technology renovation, and expenditure on technology assimilation and absorption are relatively most important elements affecting innovation capabilities of Chinese high-tech enterprises. In addition, the two top ranking on innovation capabilities are manufacture of electronic equipment and communication equipment, and manufacture of medicines. At last, the findings indicate that in the measures of industrial characteristics, the three top ranking on affecting innovation capabilities of Chinese high-tech enterprises are R & D intensity, technology absorption intensity of indigenous high-tech enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises size. The opening level is in the middle position. Technology intensity, market concentration, and state-owned enterprises size are the three bottom ranking on affecting innovation capabilities of Chinese high-tech enterprises.

This study has some limitations. First, this study is limited to Chinese high-tech industries. The findings may not be applicable to other countries’ high-tech industries. Further studies with other countries’ high-tech industries could be extended and examined how industrial characteristics affect innovation capabilities of the firms in these industries. Second, the measures of industrial characteristics proposed in this study are somewhat theoretically weak. In the future, the authors will further improve the current analysis, and develop the measures of industrial characteristics. Finally, with the advent of the more data with the consistent statistical coverage released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics during the more continuous years, other methods, such as panel data regression model in econometrics could be used to evaluate the relationship between industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities within Chinese high-tech industries. By then, the scholars can compare the results from grey system theory and those from panel data regression model in econometrics.

Appropriate industrial environment is favorable for Chinese high-tech enterprises to feed their innovation capabilities. Scientific evaluation on the relationship between industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities within Chinese high-tech industries is of great significance for Chinese high-tech enterprises in exerting technological catch-up and promoting their competitive advantage. The purposed measures of industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities of high-tech enterprises in this paper, and combined methodology based on grey system theory could be applied to evaluate the relationship between industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities of Chinese high-tech enterprises.

This paper proposes the measures of industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities of high-tech enterprises, and uses grey system theory to evaluate the relationship between industrial characteristics and innovation capabilities within Chinese high-tech industries.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategy for latecomers in large developing countries under globalization. The relationship between innovation and learning is deeply studied.

The paper formulates an in‐depth case study on the digital video player industry through consideration of government documents, reports, and research papers; intensive interviews; and questionnaire study.

The firms in developing countries might be able to innovate before they can match the firms in advanced countries in technological capabilities, and innovation is the most effective way of learning. The firms can achieve competitive advantage owing to the effect of the national value network, the nature of architectural technology, and the relationships between them in product development. The national market should be deliberately taken as a strategic asset for the technological learning and latecomers should learn how to exploit the advantage of globalization.

The paper tries to understand how firms in developing countries conduct learning by innovating to build their competitive advantages.

This paper aims to present a systematic review of the literature concerning major aspects of innovation performance and compare the research hotspots of innovation performance in the twenty-first century with three primary purposes: first, to view the trend of Chinese and English literature on innovation performance research; second, to summarize the research streams in innovation performance; and third, to predict possible directions for future innovation performance research.

The authors first introduce a framework of innovation performance research developments. Then they construct a representative data set of bibliographic records, obtaining 1,768 articles in the SSCI citation index database and 1,431 articles in the CSSCI database. The authors then make a comparative analysis from two aspects: research themes and development of academic communities. The research objects are keywords and references so that co-word and co-cited reference networks are established. Finally, the authors combine the direction of research streams about “innovation performance” to summarize 28 questions in three research fields that can be studied in the future.

The momentum of the literature in English on innovation performance is increasing, whereas the Chinese literature has declined in recent years. The direction of research streams in Chinese and English literature is the same: they are the “innovation system/elements” research stream, the “innovation activity/ability” research stream and the “innovation network/social capital” research stream. Although the directions are the same, the specific contents of the research are different. The direction of future development of innovation performance research can be undertaken in three aspects: follow research into expanding hot topics, mine the research of typical academic circles and develop research into exploring more fields. Combined with the direction of research streams, 28 questions in three research fields are summarized.

Based on the background of “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” in China, the research on enterprise “innovation performance” is becoming more and more important. The findings help us summarize the research streams related to innovation performance research, better understand the themes that point to directions for future development of innovation performance research and summarize 28 questions.

A firm will seek an optimal balance between internal R&D and technology outsourcing when formulating its innovation strategy. This paper aims to provide a review of the determinants of firm's innovation strategy, and performs an empirical study on a sample from Chinese high‐tech industry, with the purpose of identifying two aspects of the issue: the choice patterns of Chinese firms over innovation strategy, and the innovation effect elasticity of different strategies.

The development of a multiple regression model supported by data from industry level and a statistic analysis.

Outsourcing is the major innovation strategy adopted by most Chinese high‐tech firms, especially technology import, which implies the imperfection of Chinese innovation service system. The empirical analysis also indicates the insufficiency of internal R&D expenditure and the weakness of absorptive capacity in Chinese high‐tech firms. Although, Chinese high‐tech firms prefer the outsourcing strategy in their innovation, the contribution of outsourcing is much smaller than that of internal R&D. When expenditures are increased by the same rate, the innovation output form internal R&D is twice the output of outsourcing. For improving Chinese firms' innovation efficiency, the reform of innovation service system is needed on the macro‐level, while on the micro‐level, it calls for firms to readjust their innovation strategy portfolio.

This paper will make up for the deficiency in current researches on innovation, which often apply firm samples in developed countries, and lack evidences from firm samples in developing countries. In addition, it will provide the decision‐making basis for Chinese Government's current actions in constructing and improving China's innovation service system.