The opportunity-driven innovation catching-up from China in engineering and technical services industry: does technology gap generate opportunity gap in innovation?

Abstract

In the multi-case study, 14 latecomer firms from China in the engineering and technical services industry, which successfully accomplished the innovation catching-up, have been investigated. The key influencing factors of innovation catching-up have been identified and the relationships among these influencing factors have been detected. An Opportunity-Action Model of innovation catching-up are build up. The research finding shows that the innovation catching-up of these latecomer firms are driven by opportunity, which is mainly shaped by the external forces but not decided by the internal technological (capability) factor. The empirical evidence and finding implies that the larger technology gap between the latecomer and the leading firms does not signify that the latecomer firms have fewer innovation opportunities in such context. In the innovation diffusion, at least as shown in this study of the engineering and technical industry in China, the technology gap does not directly generate the opportunity gap in innovation.