Upgrading Of China Research Articles

Industrial Growth Path under the Restriction of Water Resources in China

Resources and environmental constraints are important problems need to be solved in the process of industrial development, especially in the critical period of industrial transformation and upgrading in China. So the perspective of the restriction of water resources was selected to analyze the industrial growth path. The water constraint for industrial growth model was constructed based on the theory of Lucas economic growth, and then the industrial growth path under different water resource constraints was analyzed by the Cobb - Douglas production function. The results show that it is possible to realize stable industrial development, but the ratio of water resources growth rate and the human capital growth rate should be less than the ratio of human capital output flexibility and water output flexibility. Meanwhile, water resources elasticity coefficient should be further increased to improve the contribution of unit water consumption for industrial growth, so the industrial water use efficiency be improved was one of the most important aspects. The above results could provide theory and method for related department to set up industrial development and water resources utilization plans.

An Empirical Study on the Innovation and Development of Knowledge Intensive Business Service and Manufacturing Industry in China

The characteristics of knowledge intensive business service have decided that it must be a strong support to promote the transformation and upgrading of China’s manufacturing industry. This paper has objectively analyzed the mechanism of knowledge intensive business service had promoted the strategic upgrading of manufacturing enterprises, and had tested the relationship between the effect and influencing factors. The policy recommendations are put forward in view of the test results.

The new industrial revolution and industrial upgrading in China: achievements and challenges

One recent development in the area of manufacturing is the New Industrial Revolution (NIR). This paper examines the contours shaping the NIR, and analyses the challenges facing China in its pursuit to achieve technological parity with advanced nations. China’s economic rise is strongly associated with its ascending the technology ladder. The country is now the world’s workshop. As the labour-intensive strategy based on cheap labour has run up against its limits, policy makers have devised plans that focus on industrial upgrading, promote indigenous innovations and establish national brands. This way China would avoid the middle-income trap and eventually become an innovative powerhouse.

Industrial Upgrading and the Advent of Independent Innovation: A Case of the Chinese Cartoon Industry

In recent years, the development mode of China’s animation industry changed from “offshoring” to “innovation”. China’s domestic animation has since achieved rapid advancement in the creation of original characters, animation production and sales, development of cartoon-related products, cultivation of the animation market and industrial upgrading. This article investigates the upgrading progress of China’s animation industry. To transform the country’s economic growth model and strengthen ideological control, the Chinese government promoted culture industrialisation, including animation. There has been a shift in the function of animation from edutainment to a balanced mix of edutainment and commercial success. On the one hand, the Chinese government regards animation as an important part of the knowledge-intensive cultural and creative industries, and lends its support for a breakthrough in transforming the economic growth model. On the other hand, the government insists on domestic animation to fulfil its indoctrination function to promote mainstream culture, as well as on implementing a slew of policies to reinforce domestic culture dominance in the society such as the “differentiated” broadcasting policy, incentive policy on production, flexible review and management policy, and market development and regulatory policy aimed at building the industrial chain. All of these policies form the substance of the transformation and upgrading of China’s domestic animation industry.

Constructing a Ladder for Growth: Policy, Markets, and Industrial Upgrading in China

Indigenous firms in developing countries with large domestic markets have unique advantages: the low end provides “natural” protection from foreign competition, while higher-end segments provide incentives for foreign firms to localize activities and develop channels for future capability building. Paradoxically, in their eagerness to support development efforts of local firms, states often nullify these advantages and limit the opportunities and capabilities that local firms can leverage in the upgrading process. Using the case studies of three large industrial sectors in China that faced similar prospects but had widely different outcomes, this paper develops a framework for understanding how policy shapes the growth and segmentation of markets, and thus the opportunity for industrial upgrading of indigenous firms. The cases show how restrictive demand- and supply-side policies often inadvertently limited the opportunities for upgrading through their effect on the availability of know-how, inputs, and resources required for industrial upgrading (the supply side), and through their effect on the incentives for upgrading (the demand side). Given that each segment is a crucial rung on the development ladder, industrial upgrading efforts stall when state policy inadvertently knocks out rungs on the development ladder.

Exploiting the Implementation Gap: Policy Divergence and Industrial Upgrading in China's Wind and Solar Sectors

This article argues that manufacturing policies of Chinese local governments have provided an important corrective to some of the weaknesses inherent in the central government’s indigenous innovation framework, most importantly its inattention to the importance of advanced manufacturing capabilities for innovation. Based on an original dataset of over 100 executive interviews conducted with 43 Chinese wind and solar firms, I identify both central government R&D funding and continued local government support for manufacturing as a critical factors in enabling innovation among China’s renewable energy firms. In particular, this article shows that firms have utilized a combination of both central and local government policies to establish unique engineering capabilities required for innovation in commercialization and scale - up to mass production. The findings suggest that continued local government support for the manufacturing economy has not undermined central government innovation policies, but has (1) broadened the range of resources available to entrepreneurial firms and (2) enabled new options for industrial upgrading that are outside the conceptualization of innovation underlying the central government’s indigenous innovation framework.

Exploring the Upgrading of Chinese Automotive Manufacturing Industry in the Global Value Chain: An Empirical Study Based on Panel Data

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.

Link education to industrial upgrading: a comparison between South Korea and China

Purpose – Why is the “education to industrial innovation” equation not working in China? Why has education development contributed to South Korea’s success but not promoted technology development and industrial upgrading in China? The purpose of this paper is to compare South Korea and China and try to address that puzzle. The author will also identify which mediating factors are crucial in linking education development to industrial innovation and industrial upgrading. Design/methodology/approach – This study will use the historical comparative method to compare South Korea and China. The author will try to explore the differences in education and industrial upgrading in the two countries, and identify which factors are producing different educational development effects, mainly by narrative comparison. Data will mainly come from online databases such as Statistics Korea, the Center on International Education Benchmarking, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, China Education Statistics and the World Bank, as well as from second-hand resources. Findings – In summary, this research has revealed that education itself or the production of human capital may not be sufficient conditions for technology innovation or industry upgrading. For human capital to affect industrial upgrading positively, it is not enough for the Chinese government just to invest in education. Other intermediating market and social contexts are crucial too, especially the allocation of resources between the private and the public sectors, and the existence of a proper employment structure. Originality/value – The role of education in economic development for the developing world is debated a lot. However, there is little development study research which directly explores the relationship between education and industrial upgrading via macroeconomic analysis. In a globalized world, the situation of international industrial value chains is an important element for sustainable long-term development. Industrial structures and their transformation are becoming more and more important for developing countries. While most past research has treated the absorbing economy’s structure as a condition that determines education’s contribution to development, this paper will treat the industrial structure as the dependent variable, and analyze how education would contribute to the upgrading of industrial structure and, in turn, be of benefit to sustainable economic development.

Competence development on the shop floor and industrial upgrading: case studies of auto makers in China

Industrial upgrading in China is rapidly increasing the competence requirements for employees on the shop floor. The institutional environment in China, however, does not seem very supportive: the quality of vocational education is often low and Chinese labor law provides strong incentives for companies to use temporary labor. This paper examines the competence development practices for blue-collar workers in automobile companies in China. Against expectations, automobile companies in China do not pursue ‘low road’ strategies but have designed intensive internal training programs and long-term career paths for blue-collar workers. Different theoretical explanations for the competence development approaches are discussed: human capital theory, high-commitment work systems theory, production systems theories, industrial relations and institutionalist theories. The paper is based on qualitative case studies of German, Japanese and domestic automobile manufacturers in China.

Research on the Eco-Cluster and Low-Carbon Technology Innovation of Biomedicine Industry in China

OBJECTIVE:To provide reference for the eco-cluster and low-carbon technology innovation of biomedicine industry in China.METHODS:In the context of the construction of ecological civilization, To analyze the status and existing problems of Chinese bio-pharmaceutical industry cluster and to explore viable industry gathering mode and low-carbon technologies innovative ways.CONCLUSIONS:Ecological industry is the fundamental way out of structure optimization and upgrading of China’s bio pharmaceutical industry. The development of Chinese bio-pharmaceutical industry must take the path of ecological gather and the key step lies in the low carbon technology innovation of biopharmaceutical.

The impact of financial development on the upgrading of China’s export technical sophistication

By building an endogenous technological progress model with intermediate product expansion, the paper shows the evolvement of export technical sophistication (or technical complexity) upgrading in China. We find that financial development, human capital, technological gap, and FDI technology spillover can promote export technical sophistication. In our empirical study, we extend the model of Hausmann, et al. (J Econ Growth 12:1–25, 2007) to test the model implications. To be specific, in order to avoid pseudo-statistical phenomenon we eliminate the impact of the technical sophistication measurement exerted by the processing trade-oriented import products. A panel data covering 31 provinces and municipalities in China from 2002 to 2008 is then analyzed. From the national, regional and industrial levels, we find that financial development is a very important factor for the upgrading of the export technical sophistication. Further, various financial development indicators all have significant impacts on the industrial export technical sophistication in different regions and different industries. Finally, FDI, R&D investment and human capital also play significant roles in promoting the upgrading of the export technical sophistication.

Varieties of Global Capital and the Paradox of Local Upgrading in China

Over the past two decades, China has launched a nationwide endeavor to push domestic firms up the value chain. This article explores why, in some localities, Chinese firms had significant success in upgrading, while in other localities, firms were paradoxically trapped in a race-to-the-bottom competition. Drawing on national economic census data, a firm-level survey, and in-depth interviews, the article conducts a controlled comparison of China’s largest electronics manufacturing bases in the Yangtze and the Pearl River Deltas. It argues that the local government’s choice of global business allies shaped the upgrading behavior of domestic firms. When local governments allied with large multinational corporations (MNCs) at the top of the value chain, they reinforced the hierarchical structure of production, shrank the upgrading space for domestic firms, and squeezed them to the bottom of the value chain. In contrast, alliances with small foreign invested firms at the bottom helped break the hierarchical segregation and held more potential for local learning and innovation. The article sheds new light on the question of when industrial policies succeed or fail to facilitate domestic upgrading in a globalized era.

An Exploratory Study on Workforce Development Strategies by Taiwan-Invested OEMs in China

This study employs the perspective of global value chain (GVC) to address the workforce development (WFD) strategies conducted by Taiwanese OEMs in China for supporting their GVC upgrading. According to the case-based empirical analysis, five major characteristics of their WFD strategies are identified: 1) Consideration of the imbalance between skills supply and demand for GVC upgrading in China; 2) Inclusion of training industry-specific skills as per international standards, 3) Emphasis on developing “soft skills”; 4) Specific training for key bottleneck positions required by GVC upgrading; 5) Establishment of innovative corporate career development initiatives. This paper contributes to the literature by promoting better understanding of the WFD strategies by Taiwanese OEMs in China as well as examining the critical role of these strategies in facilitating GVC upgrading. Further, since a variety of enterprises interviews were conducted, it answers to a recent call for using first-hand information to analyze relevant issues, providing constructive implications for other Taiwanese OEMs to overcome the critical skilled labor shortage that may hinder their GVC upgrading.

Success factors for upgrading and innovation in the electronics industry: an analysis of private small and medium-sized enterprises in the Pearl River Delta

China’s quest for innovation and upgrading has motivated a growing number of analyses of innovation and upgrading processes, their main drivers and typical outcomes in China. Most of these studies are concerned with large foreign-invested and state-owned firms. They have found integration into global production networks (GPN) as well as strong governmental support to be important success factors. In contrast, little has been published about the innovation and upgrading behaviour of private small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper addresses the upgrading of private SMEs based on a sample from the electronics industry of the Pearl River Delta (PRD). We find that a number of success factors usually assumed to stimulate upgrading in China have no influence. These include GPN integration, government contacts and other inter-personal linkages. The upgrading of private SMEs can instead be best explained through a focus on the growing domestic market, overcoming typical resource constraints and a reliance on internal capabilities.

The dynamics of catch-up and skill and technology upgrading in China

This paper accounts for China’s economic growth since 1980 in a unified endogenous growth model in which a sequencing of physical capital accumulation, human capital accumulation and innovation drives the rise in China’s aggregate income. The first stage is characterized by physical capital accumulation. The second stage includes both physical and human capital accumulation, and in the final stage innovation is added to the mix. Model calibrations indicate that the growth model can generate a trajectory that accords well with the different stages of development in China.

A Novel Theoretical Application of Servitization Model Based on System Thinking: Industrial Upgrading in China

A Novel Theoretical Application of Servitization Model Based on System Thinking: Industrial Upgrading in China

Research on the New Rural Green Building Design

Since it proposed the building of a new socialist countryside by the "Eleventh Five-Year", the new rural green building design and research has been the problem construction industry discusses and faces. Based on this, this paper takes the theme of "new rural green building design research. It firstly takes an overview about green building of a new socialist countryside design; secondly to explore the rural architectural design and research status; once again raised a few simple and obvious opinion on the strengthening of the new the rural Green Building Design research; final summary of the full text. The goal is to exchange ideas with their peers, and promote the upgrading of China's new rural green building design at the same time to speed up the building of a new socialist countryside, so as to promote the sustainability of the development of China's construction industry.

How China's equipment manufacturing firms achieve successful independent innovation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate two issues: understanding how Chinese equipment manufacturing firms can achieve successful independent innovation; and studying the roles of technology management (TM) and technological capability (TC) in independent innovation. The paper will develop a new model for independent innovation for China's equipment manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews literature related to independent innovation models, then develops a theoretical framework combining and integrating research from different fields. First, it examines how indexes of independent innovation are defined from the perspectives of technology, patents, standard, R&D and the market. Second, technology management and technological capability are interpreted. Third, relationships among TM, TC, and independent innovation are theoretically analyzed and discussed. Based on these, the paper conducts an in‐depth case study of Harbin Electric Corporation to explain how independent innovation is achieved from perspectives of TM and TC. Finally, the paper constructs and discusses the double helix model of TC and TM for independent innovation.FindingsThe paper finds that: technology management and technological capability both exert important influences on successful independent innovation; the improvement of TC follows cyclical steps of acquisition, assimilation and improvement, and TM is promoted by reforming and updating strategy management, organization management, regulation management and resource‐quality management; TM and TC have interactive effects; and TM and TC are coupled in the form of a double helix to realize independent innovation.Originality/valueThe paper provides new aspects of technology management, technological capability and their interaction to deconstruct independent innovation. The paper also offers insights in presenting a detailed case study of on‐the‐ground innovation and upgrading in China.

The Dynamics of Catch-Up and Skill and Technology Upgrading in China

This paper accounts for China’s economic growth since 1980 in a unified endogenous growth model in which a sequencing of physical capital accumulation, human capital accumulation and innovation drives the rise in China’s aggregate income. The first stage is characterized by physical capital accumulation. The second stage includes both physical and human capital accumulation, and in the final stage innovation is added to the mix. Model calibrations indicate that the growth model can generate a trajectory that accords well with the different stages of development in China.

Upgrading of China's Manufacturing Industry: Two-sector Analysis Based on the Facilitation of Producer Services

In this paper, the related researches on the relationship between producer services and manufacturing industry were reviewed, and two-sector model of producer service sector and manufacturing industry sector was built with producer service serving as the endogenous variable of sustainable growth of the growth rate of manufacturing industry based on endogenous growth theory and Feder's two-sector model, in order to analyze the influence of producer service on the upgrading of manufacturing industry. It is also suggested that it is necessary for China to use producer service to enhance competitiveness of manufacturing industry in light of the causes of the low level of China's manufacturing industry.