Abstract
The article analyses the dynamics of technological catch-up through entrepreneurship in latecomer firms to emerging markets. With this aim, the article introduces Vietnam’s experience and illustrates the result of three case studies of Vietnamese technology firms at different stages of their evolution. Insights from the cases reveal all follow an incremental innovation model based on business model ‘soft’ innovations, mainly in customer-facing activities and partnering, as well as limited products and technology adaptation to local market needs. Consistently with latecomer firms’ theory, the market drives these firm’s innovation efforts, which are concentrated on developing new services and comprehensive solutions rather than new technologies. Comparisons of the findings with recent and similar experiences of Chinese firms highlight that different stages of catch-up lead to different innovation practices in nature and degree, and the need to strengthen institutions to face competition, rather than use the former to shelter from the latter. The Vietnamese firms’ innovation practices and catch-up patterns found are then discussed under the perspective of reaping the benefits of international knowledge and technology flows and the specific challenges faced by Vietnam. The paper concludes with several reflections, lessons learned and perspectives for other newly industrializing emerging countries.
Highlights
Starting from the limitations highlighted above, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of technological catch-up through entrepreneurship in emerging markets’
In order to investigate how innovative entrepreneurship works in Vietnamese enterprises, with the final aim to unveil preliminary insights about the dynamics of technological catch-up through entrepreneurship in emerging markets’ latecomer firms, the research design followed a multiple case study approach
Three case studies were selected among Vietnamese technology firms at different stages of development using theoretical sampling (Eisenhardt 1989)
Summary
Industrialization happens by imitation of the forerunner (Gershenkron 1962). This mainly happens by importing technologies and knowledge from abroad. Industrialization has never been a pure imitative process since it has always happened in combination with different, indigenously determined elements. Abramovitz’s (1986) social capability concept and learning through imitation and apprenticeship via technologies transferred from abroad (Amsden 1989; Westphal 2002) are the main of such indigenously determining elements that make a country able to absorb and exploit advanced technologies. East-Asian, late industrializing economies, in particular, made strong and distinctive use of learning as the prominent technological catch-up mode and entrusted the firms as the key actors in this process (Amsden 1989)
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