Xibao Li

The Pace and Stability of Small Enterprise Innovation in Highly Dynamic Economies: A China-Based Template

In this paper, we analyze the dynamics of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship in the Chinese “transitional” context, as a template for the evaluation of the pace and stability of small business innovation institutionalization in many transition economies, and we also provide theory and evidence to further develop knowledge spillover entrepreneurship theory. Based on the first available cross‐sectional data set (2005 for 2004) covering 158 manufacturing sectors over the five Chinese provinces representing one‐third of Chinas industrial output, the empirical analysis provides evidence that local competition/specialization affect the pace/stability of innovation institutionalization in small enterprises and large‐medium enterprises differentially, suggesting new insights for research and policy in the transition‐economy/small business management context.

Learning and sharing in a Chinese high-technology cluster: a study of inter-firm and intra-firm knowledge flows between R&D employees

This paper highlights a new emerging division of labour among Chinese Research and Development (R&D) workers in Beijings Zhongguancun Science Park, which emphasises learning through external networks. Such learning relies on the ability to develop common practices and ‘translate’ external knowledge to the firm. The discussion highlights the significant costs that can be associated with developing and establishing such skills and the underlying practices that can support this process.

Comparing the Impact of Intra- and Inter-regional Labour Mobility on Problem-solving in a Chinese Science Park

Ramirez M., Li X. and Chen W. Comparing the impact of intra- and inter-regional labour mobility on problem-solving in a Chinese science park, Regional Studies. Labour mobility of skilled employees is argued to have a positive impact on clusters, yet few studies have investigated how this might be influenced by diverse geographic patterns of mobility. Using evolutionary and institutional theory in geography, this paper argues that regional institutions and the existence of local tacit routines mean that the benefits of mobility to local firms may be enhanced if this mobility is local rather than inter-regional. This proposition is tested using regression and social network analysis on a unique survey of research and development employees working in information and communication technology firms based in Zhongguancun Science Park (ZGC) in Beijing, China.

Regional innovation performance: Evidence from domestic patenting in China

Summary This paper empirically studies the determinants of domestic patenting at a regional level in China. Applying a stochastic frontier approach to a panel of data published by China government for 30 provinces from 1998 to 2004, I explore the relationship between domestic patent grants and variables associated with R&D inputs and time-varying nuanced factors. Results imply that region-specific factors affect the efficiency in the production of three types of patents (namely, invention, utility model, design) quite differently. Industrial structure is one influential factor which determines the efficiency levels of all three types of patenting. High technology industries are not as efficient and innovative as expected. Although the role of educational institution and government support is important in patenting inventions and utility models, it is not significant in patenting designs. Firms’ commitment in innovation helps promote the efficiency in patenting utility models and designs only. It does not significantly affect the efficiency in patenting inventions. It is found that the estimated mean efficiency level is higher in the case of utility model patenting than in other two cases, while the production of design patents is found the most inefficient. Ranking regions by an order of estimated mean efficiency levels, I find that a pattern of center–periphery in innovation efficiency is only observed in the case of invention and utility model patenting, not in the case of design patenting.

Intellectual property management and patent propensity in Chinese small firms

Based on a survey of local firms in Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing, China, this paper examines the impact of intellectual property management practices on the patent propensity of small firms. With a particular focus on two aspects of intellectual property management, we find that R&D personnel-related management practices, such as training and rewarding mechanism, are more effective in enhancing a firm’s willingness to patent and encouraging the patenting behavior within the firm. Monitoring the R&D process in intellectual property right (IPR) management, such as proposal and outcome evaluation, is less influential in fostering manufacturing firms to patent. One implication emerged from the analysis is that a firm can speed up or intensify its generation of IPR assets by introducing well-developed management practices, even without reorienting its intellectual property strategies.