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1 – 10 of over 1000Andrea Appolloni, Pohkam Wong, Yuenping Ho, Supeng Zheng and Xiangan Ding
This study aims to investigate whether there are disparities in research and development (R&D) internationalization between latecomers from economy-level technological disparities…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether there are disparities in research and development (R&D) internationalization between latecomers from economy-level technological disparities and firms with ownership-specific technological capability differences in the wind turbine industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing econometric analysis based on patent indicators, the authors examine the patent data assigned by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to the technologically advanced economy and the technologically emerging economy.
Findings
This study finds that latecomers from technologically advanced economies behave with no difference from early leaders in terms of international co-invention (INCO) but do show differences in another indicator – native ownership of foreign inventors (NOFIs). Additionally, latecomers from economy-level technological disparity show significant differences both in both INCO and NOFI. These results indicate that the latecomers from technologically advanced economies not only possess the nature of latecomers which motivates them to seek knowledge from foreign economies but also benefit from their advanced home base, thereby prompting them to internationalize and access cost-effective R&D resources. Moreover, the results demonstrate that latecomers from technologically emerging economies are more prone to engage in R&D internationalization to augment their own home base compared with firms from advanced economy.
Originality/value
This study extends the literature on R&D internationalization by introducing novel perspectives. It distinguishes some apparent distinctions of the tendency of R&D internationalization between latecomers under economy-level technological disparity as well as firms from ownership-specific technological capabilities differences. Additionally, this study disaggregates R&D internationalization into twin key dimensions: INCO and NOFI. These findings allow for a comprehensive understanding of the differences in the firm's R&D internationalization under economy-level technological disparities and ownership-specific technological differences. These findings offer valuable insights for decision-makers in navigating global innovation activities by highlighting the diverse economy-level technological advantages as well as ownership-specific advantages.
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Yicun Li, Yuanyang Teng, Dong Wu and Xiaobo Wu
To answer the questions: what roles windows of opportunity act in the catchup process of latecomers, what strategies latecomer enterprises should adopt to size windows of…
Abstract
Purpose
To answer the questions: what roles windows of opportunity act in the catchup process of latecomers, what strategies latecomer enterprises should adopt to size windows of opportunity to catch-up with incumbents even going beyond?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper studies the catch-up history of the Chinese mobile phone industry and proposes a sectoral innovation system under scenario of technology paradigm shifts. Then a history-friendly simulation model and counterfactual analysis are conducted to learn how different windows of opportunity and catch-up strategies influence the catch-up performance of latecomers.
Findings
Results show latecomers can catch up with technology ability by utilizing technology window and path-creating strategy. However, catching up with the market is not guaranteed. Demand window can help latecomers to catch up with market as it increases their survival rates, different sized windows benefit different strategies. However, it also enlarges incumbents' scale effect. Without technology window technology catch up is not guaranteed. Two windows have combination effects. Demand window affects the “degree” of change in survival rates, while the technology window affects the “speed” of change. Demand window provides security; technology window provides the possibility of a breakthrough for technology ability.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper provide theoretical guidance for latecomer enterprises to choose appropriate catch-up strategies to seize different opportunity windows.
Originality/value
This paper emphasizes the abrupt change of industrial innovation system caused by technology paradigm shifts, which makes up for the shortcomings of previous researches on industrial innovation system which either studied the influence of static factors or based on the influence of continuous changes.
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Xinmin Peng, Lumin He, Shuai Ma and Martin Lockett
An alliance portfolio can help latecomer firms to acquire the necessary knowledge and resources to catch up with market leaders. However, how latecomer firms construct an alliance…
Abstract
Purpose
An alliance portfolio can help latecomer firms to acquire the necessary knowledge and resources to catch up with market leaders. However, how latecomer firms construct an alliance portfolio in terms of the nature of windows of opportunity has not been fully analyzed. This paper aims to explore how latecomer firms can build appropriate coalitions according to the nature of the window of opportunity to achieve technological catch-up in different catch-up phases.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a longitudinal case study from 1984 to 2018 of Sunny Group, now a leading manufacturer of integrated optical components and products, this paper explores the process of technological catch-up of latecomer firms building different types of alliance portfolio in different windows of opportunity.
Findings
This paper finds that there is a sequence when latecomers build an alliance portfolio in the process of catch-up. When the uncertainty of opportunity increases, the governance mechanism of the alliance portfolio will change from contractual to equity-based. Also, latecomer firms build market-dominated and technology-dominated alliance portfolios to overcome their market and technology disadvantages, respectively.
Originality/value
These conclusions not only enrich the theory of latecomer catch-up from the perspective of windows of opportunity but also expand research on alliance portfolio processes from a temporal perspective.
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Software development activities have been identified as a ‘window of opportunity’ for latecomer companies. Based on a critical literature review, this paper argues that studies…
Abstract
Software development activities have been identified as a ‘window of opportunity’ for latecomer companies. Based on a critical literature review, this paper argues that studies are yet to scrutinise the exact nature and extent of the capabilities, which the latecomer companies have been able to develop. The main proposition advanced by this research is that the analyses need to investigate the technological capabilities, which the latecomer companies have been able to accumulate. This study outlines the specifics in analysing technological capabilities in latecomer software companies and improves our understanding about the complexity in developing software industries in latecomer context.
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Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how China’s manufacturers catch up with the forerunners through R&D cooperation by developing a new mode of latecomer–forerunner R&D cooperation, i.e. the periphery–core mode, which provides a viable way for China’s manufacturers to obtain forerunners’ core knowledge from their periphery knowledge via knowledge spillover and knowledge transfer.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper first reviews the literature on R&D cooperation process in the catching-up context and knowledge management in R&D cooperation. Then, three cases of R&D cooperation between China’s advanced technology manufacturers and their forerunners are introduced, with emphasis on interactivities in R&D cooperation and knowledge spillover. On the basis of the multi-case study, the periphery–core mode of R&D cooperation between latecomers and forerunners is conducted.
Findings
The paper finds that the latecomers can catch up with their forerunners by acquiring forerunners’ core technology used in periphery R&D activities. Through formal and informal interactions, the forerunners’ core technology can be extracted and transferred to latecomers, which the latecomers can then absorb and further develop. Thus, it can be concluded that the periphery–core mode of R&D cooperation is a viable way for the latecomers to get access to forerunners’ core technology.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature on the catching-up theory by developing the periphery–core mode as a new mode for the latecomers to catch up with the forerunners. It expands the understanding of the latecomer–forerunner R&D cooperation by focusing on the way that China’s manufacturers as latecomers catch up with the forerunners by accessing the forerunners’ core knowledge from their R&D cooperation in periphery knowledge. The paper shows the mechanism of knowledge transfer and spillover in R&D cooperation. The role of communications, especially informal communication between cooperation partners, is emphasized in this process. This study also provides a new perspective for cooperation partner selection by arguing that latecomers can choose their cooperation partners according to the periphery and core knowledge they possess, other than the relationship between them. Besides, this paper emphasizes the mutual support between knowledge transfer, knowledge spillover and knowledge absorption, which is necessary for latecomers to achieve successful catching up in periphery–core R&D cooperation.
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Hamin Hamin, Chris Baumann and Rosalie L. Tung
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of ethnocentrism in attenuating the negative country of origin effect and latecomer brands. The literature has established the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of ethnocentrism in attenuating the negative country of origin effect and latecomer brands. The literature has established the importance of the “country of origin” effect, and this study compares consumers in the Asian emerging markets to developed consumers' response to cars from China, India and Russia.
Design/methodology/approach
Data on consumers' willingness to purchase cars from emerging markets such as China, India and Russia were collected from 3,201 respondents in those three emerging markets and in the three most important Western car markets, the USA, the UK and Germany. The study employed a choice-based conjoint analysis.
Findings
The results of this study confirmed the hypothesised ethnocentrism in the emerging markets with a strong preference for their own latecomer brands (Great Wall, Tata and AvtoVAZ, respectively). Developed markets in contrast are more sceptical of the Chinese, Indian and Russian car brands, but there is nonetheless substantial potential, especially with consumers who have previously bought latecomer brands from Asia. Utility values per brand, price, brand-partnership, product features, warranties and also place of manufacturing/assembly have been calculated in the study.
Originality/value
This paper should prove valuable to academic researchers in establishing strong consumer preferences in emerging markets for their own products, and in establishing the potential of latecomer brands in developed markets.
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This study aims to empirically examine the conditions for latecomers to successfully pursue path-creating catch-up strategies. In particular, the company is divided into two…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically examine the conditions for latecomers to successfully pursue path-creating catch-up strategies. In particular, the company is divided into two conditions: the external environment, which refers to the gap in the market share between the leaders and latecomers, and the internal capacities of the company, such as the company’s absorptive capacity, re-combinative capabilities and technological innovation leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
Because firms supported by the government tend to be conservative in their decision-making and technology development strategies, governmental assistance is likely to negatively affect path-creating catch-up strategies. This study surveyed small to medium enterprises in the Korea IT industry and analyzed the latecomers’ catch-up strategies from internal and external environment perspectives.
Findings
After ensuring its innovation capacity by developing of internal capacity, it turned out to lead to path-creative catch-up strategy and market disparity and government dependence moderates this relation. While market disparity has a positive moderation effect, government dependence showed a negative moderation effect.
Originality/value
The authors proposed and tested hypotheses of how a firm’s path-creative catch-up strategy is adopted and succeeds. Regarding the internal conditions, the authors statistically proved that absorptive capabilities, re-combinative capabilities and technology innovation leadership are important factors for a firm’s technology innovation capacity.
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Wei Zhang, Yongjiang Shi and Xiaobo Wu
This paper aims to answer two research questions: what latecomer advantages and disadvantages they had, and what strategies they employed to utilize the advantages or to surmount…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to answer two research questions: what latecomer advantages and disadvantages they had, and what strategies they employed to utilize the advantages or to surmount the disadvantages.
Design/methodology/approach
After reviews of the literatures on latecomers' characteristics and the notable rise of Taiwanese thin‐film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT‐LCD) panel manufacturers in the global manufacturing contexts, this research project combined secondary industrial sector data analysis and individual company case study (AUO Ltd) approaches in order to build a conceptual framework and identify latecomers' (dis)advantages.
Findings
This paper advances the existing literature on latecomer advantages and disadvantages by reviewing the spectacular rise of Taiwanese TFT‐LCD panel manufacturers and reveals the importance of some unexplored source of latecomer advantage such as the competition dynamics which is proved to be vital for Taiwanese firms to successfully penetrate into the market. The paper finds the influence of technological regime and argues that the incremental technological advance rather than radical innovation provides latecomers with opportunity to utilize the learning curve effect. It has also discovered new forms of latecomer advantages, for example the free‐rider effect of improved equipment due to suppliers' own learning curve. This paper illustrates the necessity of adequate exploration on technology and product features to understand firms' strategic behaviors. Moreover, the subtle tactics found in this case study may enlighten other latecomers.
Research limitations/implications
The study leaves a number of questions unanswered which warrant more attention. First, the theoretical arguments and experiences from this single case are not easily extendable to the other industries. Broader investigation should be helpful to discover the mechanism between latecomer advantage, strategy and performance. Second, the study of latecomer (dis)advantages and strategies should take the firm features into account to get a whole picture. Third, the examination of interactions between latecomer (dis)advantages and more detailed analytical framework are needed.
Originality/value
Although latecomers' characteristics and strategies have been discussed for many years since Asia economy emerged, TFT‐LCD industry is a relatively new and fast growing industry. How can a latecomer play an important role in emerging industry growing phase? This is novel in contrast with classical latecomer's model in established industry.
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Reverse innovation plays an important role in the innovation catch-up by latecomer enterprise. With the development of economic globalization, reverse innovation of the latecomer…
Abstract
Purpose
Reverse innovation plays an important role in the innovation catch-up by latecomer enterprise. With the development of economic globalization, reverse innovation of the latecomer enterprise research has received increased attention day by day. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the key success factors and the realization mechanism of reverse innovation of the latecomer engineering and technical services enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts the grounded theory analysis as the research method, by analyzing the phenomenon, collating the results, mining through the systematic data and verifying the theory temporarily. Therefore, it is ideal for the research to build the theory by analyzing the phenomenon. Before the serious coding begins, the reliability of coders is first examined. Coders extract some sample as the first test sample; then, three coders code according to the description and requirements and calculate the coding results according to the formulas that the noted scholar Holsti has proposed. Then, the authors perform the coding three times that include open coding, axial coding and selective coding, and then, the key factor model of reverse innovation of the engineering and technical service enterprise is refined.
Findings
The investigation reveals that technology localization, connection with the international market and industrial chain integration are the key success factors of reverse innovation of the latecomer engineering and technological service enterprise. Meanwhile, the latecomer enterprise gives full attention to local comprehensive comparative advantage to carry out technology localization during the reverse innovation. The diversified international coupling mechanism is an important support for technology localization. The engineering and technical service enterprise needs to pay attention to the service chain of the vertical integration in the process of reverse innovation.
Originality/value
The paper enriches the related research of reverse innovation based on a new industry and provides management support for innovation catch-up of the latecomer enterprises that have a big technological gap when compared with the multi-national companies.
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Der Chao Chen and Ryoko Toyama
This study aims to discuss the development of the semiconductor industry in China and analyzes it through current studies about the catch up of latecomers in newly industrialized…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to discuss the development of the semiconductor industry in China and analyzes it through current studies about the catch up of latecomers in newly industrialized countries (NICs).
Design/methodology/approach
Use the case study approach to explore and discuss the development track of the Chinese semiconductor industry and the catch up experience of Huang Hong NEC in China.
Findings
The experience of NICs can explain the catch up of semiconductor latecomers in China. However, the role of government has changed along with the whole development of the China semiconductor industry; external pressure may influence the pace of development and the span of control of the China Government for future catch ups.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses on one single case, which may not reflect the individual differences appeared in different firms in China.
Originality/value
This study contributes to our knowledge about the catch up of latecomer firms in an emerging market and verifies classical arguments about the experience of NICs through the experience of China's semiconductor industry.
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