Search

China is a newcomer to innovation. It is estimated that China was technologically the most advanced country throughout most of the history of human civilization. China's impressive technological exploits are often forgotten in light of its other achievements and economic potential. Many foreign companies see in China either a huge market and the opportunity to sell products to hundreds of millions of new customers, or they see a manufacturing base where products can be assembled and manufactured at low costs and then shipped to customers worldwide. But it has been rare so far for either domestic or foreign companies to consider China as a host for indigenous product development or even technology research.

This paper analyzes the learning process and sequential capabilities development in Lenovo, China's most successful PC manufacturer, which originated as a spin-off from a government-supported research institute. The case study reveals this firm's evolutionary, path-dependent and stage-wise progress from initial sales, distribution and service activities to manufacturing, product and process design and, finally developmental R&D. The study shows the interaction among the firm's changing environment, its competitive strategy, and its set of resources and capabilities. The case has implications for research on such organizations, as well as implications for management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the management of R&D units established by foreign companies in China, investigating R&D missions, site build-up, integration with the parent organization, and overall performance measurement. The research is based on 37 qualitative expert interviews with local R&D directors and managers conducted between 2001 and 2004, using a semi-structured research questionnaire, and semi-quantitative research done on 199 foreign R&D labs in China. Cultural influences on R&D management, location advantages, expatriate involvement, and organizational evolution of local laboratories are discussed. We find that foreign R&D laboratories in China are not only important vehicles for local market development but also increasingly important sources of locally developed technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends the research on R&D (research and development) internationalization to a new environmental context (two Asian newly-industrialized economies, mainland China and Taiwan). Based on a survey of 56 major Taiwanese information technology (IT) companies, the status of R&D internationalization with Taiwan as the home and mainland China as the host is investigated. Human-capital-augmentation is found to be the key motive for Taiwanese IT companies to extend R&D activities to the mainland. Accessing capable yet cost effective local engineers with an additional benefit of geographical and linguistic proximity is the major context of this motive. The location decision is based on three considerations – access to engineers, proximity to manufacturing site, and competition avoidance. Finally, three operational patterns of conducting the international design and development (D&D) activities are categorized, which are ‘home-base-integration’, ‘host-base-integration’, and ‘product life cycle’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continued growth of the Chinese economy accompanied with the expansion of international investment in China has led to an increase in foreign research and development (R&D) activities in the country. Aside from the rising importance of R&D internationalization, research on foreign R&D in China has been neglected in the past due to its emerging status. In this article we examine drivers and barriers for conducting R&D in China. The focus of our research is on transnational companies typically characterized by decentralized R&D activities. Our research is mainly based on qualitative interviews with senior R&D managers. The success of foreign R&D activities in China strongly depends on the realistic estimation of its advantages and the proper identification and handling of barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]