Abstract
In the age of globalization, the upgrading of China’s manufacturing industries has attracted great attention from both academicians and practitioners, as it certainly has great implications for the development of China and, even further, for the development of the whole world. To address this issue, the study clarifies the effects of the internal technological innovation capability (ITIC) and external linkages (ELs) on upgrading the Chinese automotive manufacturing industry (CAMI) in the global value chain, in order to indicate the appropriate way for the CAMI to be further upgraded and provide references for the formulation of regional automotive industrial policies. Based on Chinese panel data, the results confirm that both ITIC and EL are important for the upgrading of the CAMI, with ITIC being the more important. Improvement of ITIC facilitates the industry’s cooperation with the EL, resulting in better knowledge access. Furthermore, the results of cluster analysis reveal that regions with relatively developed automotive industries place emphasis on both the ITIC and EL. However, in some regions (e.g., Shanghai and Chongqing), the utility of EL seems insufficient. Therefore, the results of this paper, on the one hand, suggest policies should be directed towards increasing the ITIC of CAMI. On the other hand, in some regions, managers and policymakers need to explore further the advantage of clustering.
Highlights
Since its “open door” policy, China has achieved great milestones in manufacturing and become one of the most important manufacturers in the world
Facing the fact that huge profits are seized by automotive manufacturing magnates from developed countries, those in the Chinese automotive manufacturing industry (CAMI) must think about how to break the “low-locked” situation to upgrade the industry in the global value chain
According to Humphrey and Schmitz [7], both process upgrading and product upgrading are about the internal improvement of an industry, whereas functional upgrading is related to moving to higher positions in the global value chain
Summary
Since its “open door” policy, China has achieved great milestones in manufacturing and become one of the most important manufacturers in the world. Global value chain normally refers to the full range of activities across geographies that are required to bring a product from its conception, through its design, sourced raw materials and production, marketing, distribution and support to the final consumer [2]. It is a cooperation network comprised of different roles, such as developers, suppliers and producers. Facing the fact that huge profits are seized by automotive manufacturing magnates from developed countries, those in the CAMI must think about how to break the “low-locked” situation to upgrade the industry in the global value chain.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
