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China has become an impactful science superpower, but it is asserted that its influence provides it with disproportionate benefits that some national research policies have not thus far appreciated. To create context, Web of Science data are used to analyse research collaborations between the UK and China: trends in volume of output between 1981 and 2019; citation impact; and comparative performance across research fields. UK–China collaboration increased from fewer than 100 co-authored papers before 1990, to 750 per year in 2000, 3,324 in 2010, and 16,267 papers (10.9 per cent of UK output) in 2019. UK–China collaboration is concentrated in technology-based fields: in some (e.g. telecommunication), over 30 per cent of UK papers are in collaboration with Chinese-based researchers. The paper discusses the policy consequences to the UK of this indicative dependency, arguing that exiting from such collaborations is ill advised, provided the risks, perceived or real, are mapped, managed, and mitigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the research funding policy has promoted the output and effect of research, whether it can identify innovative research topics and promote discipline development is worth investigating in depth. Taking Chinese humanities and social sciences (HSS) as an example, this study uses the latent Dirichlet allocation topic model to identify the topics of the HSS projects and papers funded by China's national research funds. The analysis reveals the effect of research funding policy on research topics in both topic selection and funding intensity: (1) the types of projects with strict restrictions on topics significantly guide the direction of research topics; (2) projects with less funding are more likely to result in emerging topic research; and (3) compared with social sciences and key universities, the funded projects of humanities and other institutions are more likely to focus on emerging topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Answering how and why policies emerge and interact with one another will advance our understanding of the evolution of policies. The paper investigates policy emergence as a practice defining possible policy objects in a specific domain and policy interaction as a practice enabling the defined objects. To trace the policy evolution, we define three types of citations to describe policymaking processes, establish the citation and co-citation networks of policy documents, and then conduct a natural language processing-based bibliometric analysis. We reveal the patterns of policymaking practices and identify the focal policies in a given domain. The results within the context of Chinese innovation and entrepreneurial policies suggest the information contained in focal policies drives the direction of future policy themes, as well as regular policies, tend to cite focal policies and follow the ideas of focal policies to achieve their goals. Our findings also provide some implications for Chinese future policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By adopting a set of panel data from thirty provinces in China from 2007 to 2017, this paper examines how regional innovation efficiency is influenced by different types of innovation policies from a specific long-range plan ('National Medium- and Long-Term Science and Technology Development Plan (2006–20)'). We incorporate public direct research and development (R&D) grants, R&D tax credits, and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection into our research. We also explore the heterogeneous influences of these factors at different stages in regional innovation development. The results indicate that public direct R&D grants have a significantly negative influence, especially in innovation-catching-up regions. Conversely, the R&D tax credit has a considerably positive impact on innovation-catching-up regions. IPR protection plays various roles according to different innovation development stages. Specifically, IPR protection has a positive impact on innovation-leading regions, while it negatively influences regional innovation efficiency in innovation-catching-up regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on policy coordination between government agencies reveals little about how coordination is managed in centralized political systems. This paper, therefore, presents a dynamic and quantitative analysis of policy coordination in China based on the science and technology (S&T) policy documents issued by China's central government agencies in the period 1978–2019. From a series of snapshots depicting inter-agency policy development in five historical stages over this timeframe, we find that (1) policy coordination has developed steadily and has mainly occurred to interpret macro strategies and put in place more detailed implementation measures. (2) Ministries under the purview of the State Council have played a leading role in policy coordination, while other types of agencies have cooperated in more supporting roles. (3) Coordination efforts have mainly focused on inclusive and national demand-oriented themes, such as high-tech industrialization, rural S&T, and social development. This research offers a panoramic view of policy coordination trajectories and mechanisms in centralized political systems. As such, it adds to the analysis methods available for quantitatively studying policy documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has launched a series of talent-recruitment policies in the last years, in order to attract back Chinese nationals who stayed abroad. Yet, little is known about the effect of such policies. This paper examines whether researchers recruited in one of the Chinese flagship talent-recruitment policies—the 'Young Thousand Talents' policy (Y1000T)—had, in the following years after recruitment, better research performance. We compare these recipients against other Chinese nationals who got PhDs in equally prestigious non-Chinese universities but continued to work abroad (mostly in the USA). Results of difference-in-differences regressions show that returning to China has an effect of positioning returnees both at the bottom and at the very summit of the distribution of quality of publications. Nevertheless, some Y1000T researchers seem to have prioritized the quantity of outputs, arguably to the detriment of quality. This is probably due to certain research evaluation criteria in place until recent times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international standing of Chinese science has improved at an extraordinary rate in the last two decades, prompting fears among some commentators in the global North. Against such positions, this paper argues: first, that the continuing limitations of Chinese science show it is most unlikely to dominate global science imminently; and second, that the rise of Chinese science is, in any case, a trend that is greatly to be welcomed, with the potential to benefit everybody. In particular, regarding the simple advance of science and the tackling of unprecedented global problems, both Chinese science per se and international collaboration with Chinese researchers are crucial. Furthermore, such collaboration has demonstrable mutual benefits, yielding an international collaboration dividend' of increased impact and quality of research for all parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an influential economic entity, China's economic growth pattern is changing. The traditional way brought high-speed growth as well as caused environmental damage. The concept of environmental innovation, which combines the advantage of technology innovation and environmental consideration, has become a vital means to achieve sustainable development. Due to the double externality characteristic of environmental innovation, the government plays an important role in its development. Based on provincial panel data from 2008 to 2017, this paper first examines the distinct influences of various economic incentive instruments on environmental innovation. Then, the moderation role of marketization is explored. The results show that governments' direct financial expenditure on environmental protection has a positive impact on environmental innovation, while the effect of the environmental tax is not significant. In addition, the impact is negatively moderated by marketization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese governments at all levels have been using various policies to encourage innovation by firms. However, few studies considered the superimposed effects of multilevel innovation policies. Based on the panel data of 443 Chinese innovation–oriented firms from 2008 to 2011, this study investigates the complementarities between national and local science and technology programmes. The heterogeneous effects across stages of the innovation process are also considered. Results show that the national science and technology (S&T) programmes significantly increase firms' external research and development (R&D) expenditure but inhibit the commercialisation. In addition, the national and local S&T programmes complement each other in promoting external R&D expenditure while presenting substitutive in increasing patent outputs. This paper further finds that national and local programmes are more likely to be complementary at high subsidy intensity. This study contributes to the development of policy mix theory and has manifold implications for designing pertinent innovation policy systems [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can a developing country narrow its science and innovation gap with leading countries? The Knowledge Innovation Program (KIP) in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is a giant program for this purpose in China. This article investigates the scientific input and output of CAS since KIP started to be implemented ten years ago. Based on quantitative analysis, we can conclude from the results that KIP is a powerful policy tool for CAS to recruit talent, restructure CAS institutes, extend the researcher pool and introduce merit-based criteria. This has led CAS to narrow the science gap with leading countries; however, the innovation gap has still not been narrowed much. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on data from 212 national key laboratories in China, this paper examines the impact of openness on both scientific and technological innovation at laboratory level. The results of the estimation of negative binomial regression models indicate that links with industry, international collaboration, and the employment of non-permanent staff are all curvilinearly related to the level of a laboratory’s scientific innovation measured by its publications. Links with industry have a U-shaped relationship, while those involving international collaboration and the employment of non-permanent staff have an inverted U-shaped relationship with a laboratory’s level of scientific innovation. Links with industry, international collaboration, and employment of non-permanent staff are all associated with a laboratory’s level of technological innovation, which is measured by patents. Links with industry and international collaboration have an inverted U-shaped relationship, while employment of non-permanent staff has a negatively linear relationship with a laboratory’s technological innovation. This paper also examines the relationship between scientific and technological innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, as elsewhere, the number of a firm's patent applications is regularly considered to be an indicator of its innovation capability. China's patent system, however, is peculiar in that government subsidies and official targets play a notable role in influencing individuals' patenting behaviour. Using company survey data, this paper examines the influence of firms' formal ties with the Communist Party of China (CPC) on their patenting behaviour. Taking the example of private small and medium-sized firms in the electronics industry of the Pearl River Delta, it establishes that the presence of CPC offices can be the strongest single predictor for patenting even when other factors are taken into account. This seems particularly noteworthy because earlier studies found that small and medium-sized firms in the Pearl River Delta were less susceptible to central government influence than other Chinese firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the development of the third mission of Chinese universities. The main approaches and challenges of two universities, Tsinghua University and Beihang University, are examined to elucidate the third mission of Chinese research universities in a knowledge-based economy. The paper examines the present profit-seeking behavior of research universities and argues that while it is essential to support the development of some élite university-run S&T enterprises and to promote the commercialization of the research results during the transformation of the Chinese economy, the government must counteract the negative consequences and prevent the universities from losing their public service identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the dilemmas faced by developing countries (DCs) in determining their response to the global harmonisation of intellectual property (IP) protection. It focuses on two key questions: will a weak IP regime in DCs deter inward investment/technology transfer and hamper technology development?; and can DCs build up their technology capabilities and thereby overcome the projected negative impacts of global IP harmonisation by a strategy of delaying compliance with the international IP regime? This paper reviews these debates and dilemmas, applying an analytical framework based on technology studies. It uses a case study of the software industry in China to advance the argument that the effects of an IP regime are extremely complex, depending on particular industrial, technological and social factors. The key question is not whether to enforce the global IP regime; rather, policymaking needs to be informed by a more detailed approach. Imposition of the global IP regime may not be effective and may not per se promote innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attracting overseas scientists back to their home countries is an important scientific policy in the era of globalization. The returnee scientists not only have the potential to make high academic achievements by themselves but are also expected to influence other scientists. Using a data-set of 1,006 scientists from Chinese State Key Laboratories, this study finds that recruiting young returnee scientists has a positive effect on the number of their peer's highly-cited articles. It is also found that the peer effect is not achieved through the promotion of international collaborations of local scientists. It may be realized through other mechanisms, such as knowledge spillovers. As shown in the heterogeneity analysis, the adaptation of returnee scientists and the absorptive capacity of local scientists have an impact on the peer effects of the returnees, which reflects that knowledge dissemination and absorption play significant roles in the returnee's peer effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explain the divergence in technological strategies among leading electric vehicle (EV) firms in China. EVs, with their prospect of energy efficiency and emission reduction, have attracted widespread attention in recent years. However, EV development still faces technological challenges. While these challenges are similar for all firms, their coping strategies are highly divergent. One of the main reasons is that the policy environment for Chinese EV developers is shaped by a multiplicity of institutional logics which are sometimes incoherent. This allows firms to selectively build on those institutional logics that meet their needs and priorities. This strategic behavior results in divergent technological paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the features of Triple Helix model in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and analyses the driving forces of the featured model from the institutional logics perspective. The statist-fading balanced Triple Helix model in Shenzhen is characterized by (1) the loosened control of central government and (2) the balanced interaction of local government, industry, and university. The former character is closely related with the internal changes of state logics, i.e. the rescaling of state power due to decentralization, regional disparity, and global networks. The latter is driven by the structural overlap of state, market, and professional logics along with the transition of China from a centrally planned economy towards a market-oriented economy and the importance of innovation and learning in the knowledge society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few countries have increased their expenditure on R&D as rapidly as has China in recent years. However, so far, little academic attention has been paid to how decisions are taken and priorities set in Chinese research policy. This paper analyzes priority-setting in China's recent research policy. We find that China's research policy is driven by a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, objectives, leading to a multitude of often overlapping initiatives. Secondly, mission-and excellence-driven research dominates over institution- and capacity-building and diffusion objectives. Thirdly, the process of setting research priorities is characterized by a combination of central goal articulation--top-down decision-making--and decentralization, deliberation and stakeholder consultation--bottom-up mechanisms. Aside from contributing to the understanding of China's research and innovation policy and system, this paper provides insights into policy change in China more generally and also into the processes which shape priority-setting in transition economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a broad-based background to the major innovation-related organizations, policies and institutions that have shaped Hong Kong's innovative landscape over the past decade and a half and determined the trajectory of its innovation system. The examination reveals three key issues: First, the Asian Financial Crisis was the major catalyst for change in the development of Hong Kong's innovation system. Second, the ecology of Hong Kong's innovation system grew in an unprecedented manner following 1998. Finally, this growth in the elements of the system indicates promising directions in which to drive future in-depth research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China the use of public procurement as an innovation policy instrument has been closely associated with the drive to promote indigenous innovation. Implementation was largely through the use of catalogues intended to signal and to formally accredit the supply and demand of technologically-oriented products. This paper reviews these experiences by examining the wider context and three case studies. Accreditation is shown to carry a risk of protectionism. Signaling performs a function analogous to a technology roadmap and was assisted by giving listed technologies priority for public procurement. For both types of instrument the intended mechanism did not work as planned but the broader role they sought to fill was an important factor in bringing innovations to market. The appropriateness and effectiveness of such instruments are shown to be dependent upon the state of both the innovation and the procurement systems in which they are set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last century and a half, global technological leadership has shifted from Great Britain to the USA. In this paper we argue that China is positioning itself to assume global leadership in technology within the coming few decades. We identify three sources of competitive advantage for China's ascent in the global technology stakes: its massive domestic market, its centralized power and willingness to employ state-sponsored industrial policy and government support, and the process of globalization that continues to transform markets worldwide. After acknowledging skep- tical views of China's capacity to achieve global technology leadership, we survey the present state of affairs and assess its prospects for growth based on statistical evidence and multiple examples. We argue that the three sources of competitive advantage we explicate offer China a path to imminent global technological leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese universities have undergone a massive transformation in recent decades. In addition to a dramatic increase in the number of universities and students, universities have shifted from primarily providing education to emphasizing research. Omnipresent political control is to be replaced by stronger academic self-organization. The result so far is a growing stratification of Chinese universities, with a few select research universities receiving the bulk of government research funding and a large number of universities with very little public funding for research which focus primarily on education. The rapidly changing landscape, with growing numbers but also increasing stratification and with conflicting relations between political control and selforganization, has given rise to tensions within universities and within the higher education system. In this paper, we identify these tensions and discuss their implications for China's quest to establish world-class universities and to achieve the transition to an innovationoriented nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to understand the roles universities play in regional innovation systems in China. Specifically, it examines how Chinese practice concerning the engagement of the universities with society for promoting regional innovation systems differs from Western practices from the perspective of the Triple Helix. It focuses on China’s leading metropolis, Shanghai, and takes as a case study the Tongji Creative Cluster which, unlike most other clusters in China, is based on knowledge-intensive services rather than high-tech manufacturing. We find that although it is commonly assumed that the statist Triple Helix model characterises the development of the innovation system in China, the practices of the Tongji Creative Cluster take a different approach, combining both bottom-up initiatives in the initial stage and top-down coordination in later developments. We argue that this model is more useful for China’s regional innovation systems as it can overcome many challenges in the statist model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

China's approach to developing a world-class science system includes a vigorous set of programmes to attract back Chinese researchers who have overseas training and work experience. No analysis is available to show the performance of these mobile researchers. This article attempts to close part of this gap. Using a novel bibliometric approach, we estimate the stocks of overseas Chinese and returnees from the perspective of their publication activities, albeit with some limitations. We show that the share of overseas Chinese scientists in the USA is considerably larger than that in the European Union. We also show that Chinese returnees publish higher impact work and continue to publish more and at the international level than domestic counterparts. Returnees not only tend to publish more, but they are instrumental in linking China into the global network. Indeed, returnees actively co-publish with researchers in their former host system, showing the importance of scientific social capital. Future research will examine the impact of length of stay, among other factors, on such impact and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of the global biomedicine economy has been matched by an expansion of the governance knowledge required to facilitate its development. As part of that process, and in response to the governance needs generated by cultural conflict, bioethics has emerged as the political means for the creation of a global moral economy where the trading and exchange of values is normalised and legitimated. However, as a novel form of governance, bioethics cannot assume that it has automatic legitimacy within the jurisdiction of states, such as China, who are new entrants to the bioeconomy. Taking the case of basic stem cell science, this paper explores how far bioethics in China has evolved as an epistemic community capable of drawing on global bioethics networks to produce governance knowledge that is both compatible with traditional Chinese values and able to be translated into a legal/bureaucratic form that can be employed in policy agenda setting, formation and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses some of the challenges confronting the EU and China as they build their knowledge economies. We argue that there is an urgent need to develop a new outward-looking Lisbon strategy, preparing the EU for globalization. The strategy would focus on: international trade in services, internationalization of research networking, and access to brains and talent. The success of the Chinese economy over the past three decades can be partly attributed to its ability to absorb globally advanced technology and huge flows of foreign investment, and its policy of providing incentives to domestic and foreign firms to innovate, a strategy very reminiscent of Europe's Lisbon agenda. To move further, China needs to overcome the obstacles of regional disparities, transform its industry and deepen industry-academy linkages. These are the very areas where Europe is making efforts to achieve sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanotechnology is predicted to be a US$2.6 trillion market by 2014. China, along with some 40 other countries, is investing in nanotechnology as a major key to global economic competitiveness. This paper reviews recent efforts by the Chinese government to become a world leader in nanotechnology, from fundamental research to the incubation of commercial products. Its findings are based on Chinese government reports, existing studies, and interviews with leading Chinese academicians, scientists and engineers, and policy-makers. We conclude that while China has made strides on such indicators as scientific publications and some commercial sectors, the long-term returns on this effort remain uncertain. While the combination of international collaboration and increased public investment in nanotechnology holds promise for advancing nanoscience in China, most commercial returns still appear to be a long way off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting growth in patent activity was an important stated goal of China's Medium- and Long-Term Plan for Science and Technology Development (2006–20) , and it was a successful one. By the end of this ambitious blueprint, China had witnessed enormous growth in the number of granted patents, especially those granted to public universities. This vital role played by universities in technology innovation justifies further research on the role of academia with respect to the development of technology. However, most studies on patenting by Chinese universities are limited in terms of research scale and context, and patent performance is seldom investigated in great detail. This study first presents an overall analysis of the utility patents granted to Chinese public universities (not utility model patents). Then, we compare the patent performance of two elite university groups: Project 985 universities in China and member institutions of the Association of American Universities (AAU) in the USA. Our results show that Chinese universities account for a high proportion of the total patents granted in China, and the number of patents granted to universities has grown rapidly in recent decades, making them a very substantial contributor to China's innovation system. However, the value of patents did not improve as their counts surged. Compared to AAU universities, the technological and economic value of patents held by Project 985 universities is considerably lower, even for the top-patenting universities in China. These findings extend our understanding of technological innovation activity in China's academic landscape and might inspire future policies toward patent quality and impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation voucher is a market-oriented policy instrument to encourage the external resource utilization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) so as to foster their innovation activities and outcomes. This study extends the extant literature on the effectiveness of innovation voucher policy by investigating whether this small innovation subsidy can promote the innovation output of SMEs in China, a typical emerging economy, and identifying policy-relevant heterogeneities. By using the samples of Chinese technology-based SMEs and a flexible conditional difference-in-differences approach, our results show that innovation vouchers generally do promote SMEs' innovation output and exert a more salient effect on medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, the incentive effect of innovation vouchers is stronger on the recipients in the regions where the institutional environment is more developed. This study has important implications for policy makers and SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how local political turnover affects corporate R&D investment and innovation performance in an emerging economy like China. Based on the panel data of 956 listed firms in China, we found that local officials' turnover has a direct negative effect on both R&D investment leap and corporate innovation performance. Furthermore, local officials' turnover inhibits innovation performance provided the new officials are transferred from other places but improves innovation performance provided the old officials are dismissed for corruption or other violations. Finally, R&D investment leap positively moderate the relationship between local officials' turnover and corporate innovation performance. These findings contribute to the literature on how political uncertainty at the regional level affects R&D and innovation activities at the firm level and provide significant guidance for both the government and manufacturers in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is the entrepreneurial university mode that originally appeared in the US possible in China? Thirty-four universities in the '985 Project' were studied in order to address this question. It is hypothesized that the necessary internal factors for a university to be entrepreneurial are: its research, technology transfer and entrepreneurship capabilities. External factors include: government support through policies and funding, venture capital and collaborations with firms. We concluded that it is possible to achieve an entrepreneurial mode in China, though different from that in the US. As a developing country, China starts from a university-run enterprise model, forming firms within the university. These generally operate in nonhigh-tech mode to gain experience and raise capital, as well as develop research capacity, and then upgrade to a high-tech entrepreneurship mode. A few elite universities will become entrepreneurial universities within 10-20 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deteriorating relations between the USA and China since 2018 have extended to education and scientific research arenas. We put the US–China science and education in a historical perspective and describe the win–win situation when both countries collaborated. We discuss an ongoing loss–loss scenario of the decoupling and speculate its far-reaching adverse impacts beyond bilateral territories. We call for actions to be taken for a brighter future by the leaderships in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain has been regarded as an emerging global technological phenomenon. This study uses the patent analysis method to compare the development of blockchain technology in China and the USA. An overview of blockchain policies in China and the USA is presented. Our analyses suggest that policies related to the blockchain stimulate the number of blockchain patent applications and create regional innovation in China. The innovation capability of Chinese enterprises has been more affected by these policies than that of the USA, which is reflected in the fact that Chinese enterprises have become key players in China and actively carry out patent layout in the USA. Although the developmental trend of blockchain technology in China and the USA is almost identical, the USA attaches more importance to safety technology, whereas China pays more attention to the application technology based on the differences in policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although numerous studies have emphasized the importance of local knowledge and science, as well as collaboration between local people and scientists in social and environmental governance, it is often assumed that local people produce and possess only local knowledge while scientists have only scientific knowledge. The aim of this study was to explore whether and how the local knowledge of scientists influences their impact on governance performance, using desertification control in northern China as a typical case. This research produces three major findings. (1) Scientists' local knowledge did improve their impact on desertification control. (2) Among the three important types of local knowledge, an understanding of local social relationships, wisdom, and methods was more important than an understanding of local conditions. (3) Successful applications of local knowledge by scientists shared seven collaborative factors that stressed the scientists' local knowledge, the scientists' behaviours, and laws and regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has long struggled to make science and technology useful for industry. One essential element in overcoming this problem is vigorous knowledge infrastructure development. This article focuses on the most salient outcomes of recent organization-building initiatives in Guangdong: the 'New R&D Institutes' (NRDIs). We employ a process tracing approach including a mix of methods to systematically study NRDIs, and we examine the ways in which these institutes extend, and improve upon, previous Chinese approaches to technology transfer. We observe a flexible approach that engages a wide range of intra-regional and extra-regional knowledge actors and allows for the emergence of a variety of technology transfer models—including models that are better adapted to the local setting than those discussed in the literature. The article contributes to fragmentary knowledge on the role of technology transfer in China and to the literature on innovation policy in peripheral manufacturing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impacts of the high-tech enterprise certification policy on corporate innovation in China, by analyzing a unique dataset of listed companies and their affiliates from 2006 to 2015. We exclude firms certified after year 2009 from the sample, because they may have engaged in R&D manipulation. The findings show that the high-tech enterprise certification can promote corporate innovation in China, especially the innovation captured by invention patents and the intensity of policy matters. The study also concludes that the high-tech enterprise certification can influence enterprise innovation through 'physical' and 'tacit' channels. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that private enterprises, enterprises in more competitive industries, and equity-inspired enterprises benefit most from high-tech enterprise certification. This article helps understand the validity of innovation policies and driving forces of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate either artificial or natural selection leads to the Matthew effect in the science funding allocation and its consequences, this study retrieves 274,732 publications by Chinese scientists from the Web of Science and examines how the disparity of science funding determines scientists' research performance. We employ the Negative Binomial Model and other models to regress the publication's citation times, which measures the research performance, on the number of funding grants and their amounts of currency that the publication receives, which measures the disparity of science funding. The empirical results suggest an inverted U-shaped relationship. However, the optimum number of funding grants far exceeds the actual number that most publications receive, implying that increasing the funding for academic research positively impacts scientists' research performance. The natural disparity thus plays a major role in distributing the science funding. Additionally, China's publication-based academic assessment system may be another main cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University–industry R&D collaboration is an important means to improve innovation efficiency; many governments have issued policies to promote it. The most frequent policy instruments implemented by policy-makers to foster firms' innovation are subsidies and tax incentives. The article elaborated on how subsidies and tax incentives influence the R&D collaboration efficiency through a panel dataset from 2009 to 2015 in China. The result showed that subsidies and tax incentives have a positive effect on collaboration efficiency, and the effect of subsidies on output is bigger than that of tax incentives. Taking the intensity of subsidy as a threshold variable, there is a significant single threshold effect on collaboration efficiency. However, there is no threshold effect when the intensity of the tax incentive used as the threshold variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the moderating effects of in-house formal R&D and industrial environment turbulence on the relationship between institutional drivers, in terms of incentives and pressures, and firm innovation. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of manufacturing firms in Guangdong Province of China, where institutional changes and governmental policies play prominent roles in shaping innovation. Results show a positive main effect of institutional incentives, but an insignificant main effect of institutional pressures. In-house formal R&D and industrial turbulence negatively moderate the institutional incentives–innovations relationship, yet positively moderate the institutional pressures–innovations relationship. This study links the innovation systems literature with the institution-based view and deepens the understanding of the joint forces of institutional transitions, industrial changes, and resource heterogeneity in shaping innovation. The findings also inform managers and policymakers in institutional transition environments to better manage institutional drivers of innovation by considering firm- and industry-specific characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power (WP) is a long-term strategic energy alternative for China to cope with energy shortage and environmental crisis. Yet, how innovation policies precisely affect innovation efficiency (IE) of WP industry remains poorly understood. Therefore, based on the micro-data of Chinese WP-listed companies, this article measures the IE of enterprises in different links of wind power industry chain (WPIC), and discusses the effects of innovation policy and its mix on IE. The results show that there exists non-efficiency problems in Chinese WP industry during 2014–7, but the innovation of enterprises in the upstream of WPIC is DEA efficient. IE of enterprises in the midstream presents a U-shape, which fluctuates periodically in downstream. In addition, neither a single policy nor a policy mix has a significant impact on IE of enterprises in the upstream and midstream of WPIC, but has a significant negative effect on that of the downstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic-hailing (e-hailing) has experienced explosive growth in China. The Chinese government's e-hailing policies illustrate its central–regional policy mix. This study analyzes e-hailing policies in four Chinese cities—Xi'an, Chengdu, Beijing, and Guangzhou—and compares these policies with goals in four policy areas. We show that local Chinese governments' attitudes toward e-hailing are varied, contradictory, and in some cases even not in accordance with central government policies. Our insights demonstrate the limited generalizability of the policymaking experiments we studied. It would be difficult to infer broad policy implications from the experience any of the four cities has had with e-hailing, because China's regionally decentralized innovation system and policy experiment process address the unique needs and contexts of regional governments on a case-by-case basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transnational academic mobility has long been championed as positive and worthy of supporting. Yet, little attention has been paid to its joint impact with local connections on the career advancement of established scholars. Utilizing novel curriculum vitae data of 1447 Chang Jiang Scholars, we examine the relationship between academic mobility and the speed of obtaining prestigious academic titles. Our results suggest that local connections accelerate the career development of Chinese scholars, while international academic mobility has a negligible effect or even slows down the speed of late-phase career advancement. Returnee scholars tend to obtain national academic titles within a longer time period compared with their local counterparts. This penalty of international academic mobility also holds for returnees with only overseas PhD training experience and international research visits. Local scientists are more likely than their returnee peers with equivalent ties to have a quicker career trajectory. Policy implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the open innovation era, enterprises should conduct more of their own basic research or not rely on contextual factors. We use quantile regression to determine that basic research in the business sector has different effects on economic performance by national income level using thirty-one Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and non-OECD countries including China during 1996–2014. We find that basic research expenditure has a negative relationship with economic growth in low-income countries, whereas in high-income countries, the relationship is positive. Furthermore, the greater the national income, the higher the importance of basic research for economic growth. However, increased absorptive capacity mediates the positive relationship between basic research investment and economic growth in high-income countries, and, in low-income countries, it mediates the negative relationship between the two. In this study, we provide a more detailed understanding of the relationships between basic research investment in the business sector and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tries to adopt data envelopment analysis window analysis to evaluate the technological innovation efficiencies of seven types of China's industrial enterprises during 2006–15. However, different window widths will lead to very different results. We designate the ideal window width through the scientific method rather than subjective judgments and obtain the efficiencies closer to reality. We also measure the efficiencies under the worst width opposite to the ideal window width to highlight differences. The results indicate that the efficiencies under the ideal width are more reasonable. During 2006–15, the efficiency of medium-sized enterprises was higher than that of large enterprises, that of private enterprises was higher than that of state-owned and state-holding enterprises, and that of foreign-funded enterprises was higher than that of enterprises with funds from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan and that of domestic-funded enterprises. Moreover, the efficiencies of various types of enterprises all maintained upward trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese scientists constitute the largest group of foreign-born tenure-track faculty in science and engineering (S&E) fields in the USA, and have become a target of recent Chinese government efforts seeking to attract them back to China. This study examines the differences of collaboration networks between Chinese scientists and US-born scientists working in the USA. The findings show significant differences in the size, composition, and role of collaboration networks of Chinese scientists, and how these networks differently impact their productivity. The networks of scientists born in China are smaller, more dispersed, and less communicative. However, despite those networks and less benefit from traditional research resources, Chinese scientists appear to be more productive than their American colleagues are. The study improves understanding of this important group in the USA's research enterprise and also provides insights for science policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a unique sample of 214 returnee scholars retrieved from the Changjiang Scholars Program in the fields of natural and life sciences, this study examines the impact of returnees' transnational capital on their performance in the reintegration process. We find that established returnee scholars are more likely to have gap periods, and they have a slower recovery from reduction in research impact during the post-return period than other returnees. We also find that scholars with higher overseas research impact have higher risks of reduced research impact in the initial years upon return, and slower recovery. The duration of overseas experience has mixed effects on returnee scholars' post-return performance. Our findings have implications for Chinese universities in terms of formulating policies regarding returnee talent recruitment and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on China's patent data from 1985 to 2010, we find that behind the country's patent number explosion, the overall innovation content of Chinese patents has not achieved proportional growth. An important explanation for this phenomenon is the patent promotion polices (PPP s), which have prompted the quantitative expansion of patent applications and approvals, but have had negative effects on average patent quality, as proxied by patent application withdrawal rate and patent renewal rate. These patterns are observed both at the provincial level and at the patent level, and they are especially pertinent to patent applications filed by firms, which are the main targets of the PPP s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since it embarked on its economic opening and reform path in the late 1970s, the Chinese government has assigned a central role to science, technology and innovation for the country's economic development. In the phase of 'economic catch-up', China has pursued a top-down innovation policy, characterized by targeted investments in science and technology. Recently, a significant shift in China's innovation policy can be discerned, with government increasingly acknowledging the importance of markets, private enterprises and favorable institutional conditions as determinants of a well-functioning innovation system. This shift is concurrent with the realization that the transition from middle- to high-income country, and hence the avoidance of the 'middle income' trap, might require different innovation policies than in the past. In this article, we analyze and assess China's initial innovation policy as well as its emerging reorientation. Finally, we identify some remaining challenges in China's efforts to escape the middle income trap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the key policy paradigms and strategy dynamics that drive the development of aircraft and spacecraft manufacturing (ASM) in China. Using Science & Technology activities data of Chinese ASM from 1995 to 2010, we find that government technology policy and enterprise technology strategy both are positively related to the innovation performance of Chinese ASM. Our results also indicate that the development of ASM industry is more dependent on the improvement of domestic technology than foreign technology import. Furthermore, we find that indigenous innovation has been chosen by China as the main development paradigm. Finally, government technology policy is more related to the 'technology leading' strategy adopted by Chinese ASM than the 'technology following' strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public perception of nanotechnology is important as it helps scientists and policy makers under- stand how the public decides whether or not to support the development of these technologies. To examine the public's perception and attitude toward nanotechnology in China, we conducted a case study in Dalian through a survey in 2013 (N = 741). Support for the technology was indicated by 96.6% of the sample. This sample also had the highest self-reported awareness of nanotechnol- ogy worldwide, with 88.4% of the sample reporting having heard of nanotechnology, although they possessed little knowledge about the technology. Support was associated more with beliefs (e.g. expectations for nanotechnology, trust, benefit/risk ratio) than with knowledge. Mass media news reports and advertisements were the top means of communication about nanotechnology. It is very possible that the rate of support for nanotechnology may change in future, as with support for genetically modified food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]