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Technology Decomposition and Technology Recombination in Industrial Catch-up for Large Emerging Economies: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Industries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2021

Xiaoling Chen ,
Bin Guo ,
Jingjing Guo  and
Wen Helena Li
Xiaoling Chen
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University of Technology, China
Bin Guo
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
Jingjing Guo*
Affiliation:
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Wen Helena Li
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, Australia
*
Corresponding author: Jingjing Guo (guojingjing@casisd.cn)
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Abstract

The influence of technological learning on industry-level catch-up has long drawn substantial attention in the catch-up research field. However, the underlying mechanisms of technological learning and the unique catch-up context in large emerging economies are much less explored. To explain the technological learning processes of latecomers that face the technology gap and strive to build differentiated competitive advantage, this study builds on the absorptive capacity perspective and deconstructs technological learning processes into two mechanisms: technology decomposition and technology recombination. The former entails decomposing advanced technologies into pieces, parts, or modules, while the latter entails the process of capturing market opportunities through recombining knowledge from diverse sources into commercial products through localized innovations and adaptations. Then, we propose a unique ‘ladder-like’ catch-up context (i.e., technology ladder and market ladder) and investigate how the technological learning process and the unique catch-up context jointly affect industrial catch-up performance in China. Using seven-year panel data from Chinese manufacturing industries, the results indicate that only technology recombination has a significantly positive relationship with industrial catch-up performance. In addition, the market ladder strengthens the positive impact of technology recombination on industrial catch-up, while the technology ladder weakens the positive impact of technology decomposition on catch-up.

摘要

已有文献较多关注了技术学习对产业追赶的影响，但对于大型新兴经济体中后发者的技术学习机制以及独特的追赶情境仍缺乏深入探讨。本文从吸收能力视角出发，指出后发者主要通过技术解构和技术重构进行技术学习，以缩小技术差距、构建差异化竞争优势。技术解构指分解复杂技术，从而掌握该技术架构并理解零部件或模块的功能或原理；技术重构指在产品开发中整合多种来源的知识，进行本地化创新或适应性改进，从而抓住市场机会。进一步，本研究通过技术梯度和市场梯度刻画大型新兴经济体独特的追赶情境，并检验技术学习与产业情境对产业追赶绩效的共同影响。基于中国制造业细分行业七年的面板数据，本研究的实证结果显示，技术重构正向影响产业追赶绩效，并且市场梯度会强化该正效应；技术解构对产业追赶绩效的影响不显著，但技术梯度会负向调节该影响。

Аннотация

Значение освоения технологий для сокращения промышленного отставания уже давно привлекает большое внимание специалистов в области исследований по догоняющему развитию. Однако, глубинные механизмы освоения технологий и уникальные условия догоняющего развития в больших странах с развивающейся экономикой изучены гораздо меньше. С целью прояснить процессы освоения технологий в странах, которые позже других стали на путь индустриализации, столкнулись с технологическим разрывом и стремятся создать особое конкурентное преимущество, проводится это исследование, которое основано на концепции поглощающей способности и разбирает процессы освоения технологий на два механизма: декомпозицию технологий и рекомбинацию технологий. Первый механизм подразумевает разложение передовых технологий на составные части, детали или модули, в то время как второй механизм подразумевает процесс использования рыночных возможностей с помощью объединения знаний из различных источников в коммерческие продукты посредством локальных инноваций и адаптаций. Далее, мы предлагаем уникальное понятие «лестницы» для догоняющего развития (т. е. технологическую лестницу и рыночную лестницу) и исследуем, как процесс освоения технологий и уникальные условия догоняющего развития могут совместно влиять на показатели догоняющего развития промышленности в Китае. Результаты семилетних панельных данных по обрабатывающей промышленности в Китае показывают, что только рекомбинация технологий оказывает значительное положительное влияние на результаты догоняющего развития в отрасли. Более того, рыночная лестница усиливает положительное влияние рекомбинации технологий на догоняющее развитие в отрасли, в то время как технологическая лестница ослабляет положительное влияние декомпозиции технологий на догоняющее развитие.

Resumen

La influencia del aprendizaje tecnológico en la convergencia (catch-up en inglés) a nivel de la industria ha tenido gran atención en el campo de investigación sobre la convergencia. Sin embargo, los mecanismos subyacentes de aprendizaje tecnológico y el contexto único de la convergencia en las grandes economías emergentes están mucho menos exploradas. Para explicar los procesos tecnológicos de los rezagados que se enfrentan a la brecha tecnológica y se esfuerzan por construir una ventaja competitiva diferenciada, este estudio se basa en la perspectiva de capacidad de absorción y deconstruye los procesos de aprendizaje tecnológico en dos mecanismos: la descomposición tecnológica y la recombinación tecnológica. La primera supone la descomposición de tecnologías avanzadas en piezas, partes o módulos, mientras que el segundo supone el proceso de captura de oportunidades de mercado mediante la recombinación del conocimiento de fuentes diversas en productos comerciales mediante innovaciones localizadas y adaptaciones. Después, proponemos un contexto único de convergencia “tipo escalera” (es decir, escalera tecnológica y escalera de mercado) e investigamos cómo el proceso de aprendizaje tecnológico y el contexto único de convergencia afectan conjuntamente el desempeño de la convergencia industrial en China. Usando datos de panel de siete años de industrias manufactureras chinas, los resultados indican solamente la recombinación de tecnología tiene una relación significativamente positiva con el desempeño de convergencia industrial. Además, la escalera de mercado refuerza el impacto de la recombinación de tecnología en la convergencia industrial, mientras que la escalera de tecnología debilita el impacto positivo de la descomposición tecnológica en la convergencia.

Keywords

catch-upemerging marketsmarket laddertechnological learningtechnology ladder技术学习技术梯度市场梯度追赶新兴经济体догоняющее развитиеразвивающиеся рынкирыночная лестницаосвоение технологийтехнологическая лестницаcatch-upconvergenciamercados emergentesescalera de mercadoaprendizaje tecnológico
Type
Article
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 2022 , pp. 167 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The International Association for Chinese Management Research

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Footnotes

ACCEPTED BY Senior Editor Lin Cui

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