Lutao Ning

Exploring ‘onward-journey’ ODI strategies in China's private sector businesses

Are the internationalization strategies of Chinas private businesses different from those of state-owned businesses? To date, little systematic empirical research addresses this question, despite the now well-established arguments that market and institutional imperfections influence the outward foreign direct investment (ODI) of Chinas state sector MNEs. Why is so little known about private sector foreign direct investment? One important reason is that private companies have gone to considerable lengths to conceal their activities by using offshore holding companies in tax havens. This paper, using a sample of offshore listed companies that are privately controlled, investigates what we dub ‘onward-journeying’ – foreign direct investment undertaken via tax havens. In doing so it further explores the ODI strategies of some of Chinas most successful private companies.

Foreign Direct Investment Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation in Chinese Regions: The Role of Regional Industrial Specialization and Diversity

Wang Y., Ning L., Li J. and Prevezer M. Foreign direct investment spillovers and the geography of innovation in Chinese regions: the role of regional industrial specialization and diversity, Regional Studies. Foreign direct investment (FDI) brings technology spillovers, but little is known about the interactive effects of industrial structure at the regional level on how FDI works to bring spillovers. This paper brings together technological spillovers from FDI with impacts on regional innovation through industrial structure. This is important for China as a recipient of FDI which is both regionally skewed and unevenly distributed. Results indicate that inward FDI has positive effects on regional innovation, but that industrial specialization diminishes the positive effects of FDI whilst a more diversified industrial structure enhances spillovers from inward FDI.

Knowledge sharing and affective commitment: the mediating role of psychological ownership

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the meditating role of psychological ownership which includes both organisation-based psychological ownership (OPO) and knowledge-based psychological ownership (KPO) on the relationship between affective commitment and knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is an empirical study based on structural equation modelling, with a sample of 293 employees from 31 high-technology firms in China. Findings – The result indicated that affective commitment had a significant positive effect on OPO but no effect on KPO; OPO was positively related to both common and key knowledge sharing, while KPO exerted a negative impact on both; common knowledge sharing was positively related to key knowledge sharing; the relationship between affective commitment and key knowledge sharing was multi-mediated by OPO and common knowledge sharing. Originality/value – OPO and KPO play an essential role in transferring the effect of employees’ affective commitment ...

Economic liberalisation for high-tech industry development? Lessons from China's response in developing the ICT manufacturing sector compared with the strategies of Korea and Taiwan

Abstract This paper argues that Chinas response to economic liberalisation, which artificially focuses on promoting particular sizes of firms, cannot improve technological capabilities in the ICT manufacturing industry. Not only have historical and economic conditions created difficulties in adopting Korean and Taiwanese style policies, but also competitive ICT firms in the global economy are increasingly moving from manufacturing to innovation activities against a backdrop of increasing economic liberalisation. Given the WTO and ITA agreements, the main path which Korea and Taiwan employed is now unavailable. The government therefore should leave the size of firms to market forces.

Occupational commitment, industrial relations and turnover intention

Purpose – The aim of this research is to study the relationships between occupational commitment, industrial relations and turnover intention, as well as the moderating role of turnover intention. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical data for this study were collected using a questionnaire survey method. A total of 600 copies of the questionnaire were sent out by post or email to firms and 429 valid responses were finally obtained, yielding a response rate of approximately 71.5 per cent. Findings – Except for the limited choices commitment, affective commitment, normative commitment and cumulative costs commitment are found to be significantly and positively related to industrial relations. Employees’ turnover intention may be detrimental to industrial relations, as our results show that it has a negative correlation with industrial relations. We also find that it negatively moderates the relationship between occupational commitment and industrial relations. Practical implications – Our results shed li...

Firm ownership, industrial structure, and regional innovation performance in China's provinces

This paper uses panel data between 2000 and 2010 to explore how firm ownership and regional industrial structures contribute to regional innovation performance in Chinese provinces. Specifically, we explore how the extent of specialisation and diversification in regional industrial structures at the province level fosters both Marshall–Arrow–Romer and Jacobs spillovers, as well as how foreign and state ownership influence regional innovation. We find: (i) Chinas regional innovation systems benefit from Jacobs but not MAR externalities, with the former spurring higher quality innovation in the form of increased invention patenting; (ii) state-owned enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises advance local innovation, with the latter again fostering higher quality innovation; and (iii) a convergence towards a combination of low specialisation and high diversity in provincial industrial structure is taking place between Chinas more developed inland coastal provinces and less developed inland provinces. Implications and suggestions for policy-making and future research are discussed.

State-led Catching up Strategies and Inherited Conflicts in Developing the ICT Industry: Behind the US–East Asia Semiconductor Disputes

Abstract Moving from labour to some capital and knowledge intensive sectors, East Asian countries have actively pursued strategic industrial policies and successfully promoted targeted sectors. However, their growth in high tech sectors challenged the US leadership and the World Trade Organization (WTO)-supported neo-liberal development “wisdom”. Tensions over trade and technology issues eventually exploded into fierce policy conflicts. This study explores the role of the state in a single information and communication technology (ICT) sector, the semiconductor industry, over the course of its evolution in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China. It is hoped to tackle the issues surrounding the conflicts between the Western economic orthodoxy and East Asian development policies through explaining the ICT development pathway of these countries. The finding shows that the international frictions in both ICT trade and technology were inevitable and reflect the divergence of development visions held by latecomers and developed countries.

Does technological diversification matter for regional innovation capability? Evidence from China

ABSTRACT This study empirically examines the relationship between technological diversification and regional innovation capability (RIC) based on 30 Chinese provinces from 2001 to 2011. Our results support the positive role of technological diversification in affecting RIC. We also investigate the moderating effects of R&D investments and openness on the diversification-innovation relationship. The results indicate that R&D investments exert a positive effect on RIC, while openness, measured as foreign direct investment, exerts a negative influence on RIC. We thus argue that the positive diversification-innovation relationship is contingent on multiple factors. Both policy and practical implications are discussed.

External heterogeneity and its impact on open innovation performance

While current research commonly finds there may be an optimum overall level of search depth commitment at the apex of an inverted U relationship, it says comparatively little about the optimal allocation of search depth between competing search channels. Neither does it explore in depth the qualitative differences in the breadth of different external search channels. Here we conceptually and empirically explore the idea of the intra-search channel allocation problem using the concept of heterogeneity in search depth and breadth. We explore how variations in the distribution of open innovation search depth and breadth influnence innovation performance and in doing so contribute to a more fine grained conceptual understanding of external innovation. We do so an emerging market context, namely China. Our contributions are therefore twofold, involving both conceptual and empirical elements.

Local context and innovation in China

A recent joint report of China’s State Council Development Research Centre and the World Bank argued that China stands at a precarious and challenging position in its development (World Bank and DRC 2013). Its early years of sustained high-speed economic growth were fuelled by somewhat unusual advantages — those of ‘backwardness’. These advantages included a large, young, mainly rural workforce; deep and untapped pools of technologies available for purchase or transfer on international technology markets (including the attraction of foreign businesses via FDI into joint ventures and other partnerships); buoyant and accessible international markets for trade; and, at times, protected (and therefore pro�?table) domestic markets allowing for the appropriation of rents to domestic �?rms able to harness foreign technologies and know-how. Until recently, therefore, China was able to exploit the shift from low-productivity agriculture to higher-productivity manufacturing work. It did so by combining its relatively low-cost labour with modern, often imported, manufacturing know-how. High levels of savings facilitated very high levels of investment, thereby fuelling sustained and swift economic growth processes. An important feature of this growth model was the general tendency to rely upon foreign technologies. The development of domestic innovation capabilities was thus not critical to its success.