Innovation Capabilities in Knowledge-intensive Enterprises in the Global Innovation Network

The innovation capabilities and sustainability of Knowledge-intensive Enterprises (KIEs) have played a more and more crucial role in the competition of a country or a region. The innovation patterns, strategies, and development processes of Knowledge-intensive enterprises, especially emerging KIEs, perhaps are different from those in other manufacturing enterprises. How could a KIE in emerging countries create its leading edge competences in the world? Is it distinguished from the classical process from imitation to innovation in emerging countries? What are specifics in this process? What will the global innovation network influence this leapfrog progress? All of these research questions are under explored. Focusing on the nano-tech, new energy vehicles, solar energy, and biomedical enterprises, the project is going to pursue answers to these questions based on cases studies, survey, and panel data analyses.

The project will analyse characteristics of innovation activities of KIEs. Based on the analyses framework proposed from the aspects of regional innovation system, embeddedness of global innovation network, knowledge bases of firms, and explorative capabilities of external resources, the research will explore the factors influencing innovation capabilities and their development in KIEs, and reveal the process of technological leapfrog of KIEs in the global innovation network. Taking KIEs in Sweden as benchmarks, the project attempts to illustrate the general technological development process of KIEs and factors in this process in the global innovation network, and provide comments on the policies and strategies to promote the knowledge-intensive enterprises.

In short, the project will enrich the theories on indigenous innovation and catching up, global innovation and national innovation system, close the research gap on KIEs in emerging countries in the global innovation network, and provide the practical and theoretical guides to advance such industries and national innovation system.