Comparison of Chinese and Korean companies in ICT global standardization: Essential patent analysis

The latecomers from Asia—China and Korea—started to participate in information and communication technology (ICT) global standardizations as they accumulated technological capabilities. We observed the current situation of ICT global standardizations in those countries by analyzing the mobile communications standards, WCDMA and LTE, and derived interesting findings and meaningful implications from the analysis. First, this paper provides evidence of the differences in Chinese and Korean standard strategies; China is creating its own standard whereas Korea goes with global standardization. Second, this paper shows the subsequent results of the different strategies. In detail, we conducted an analysis based on (declared) essential patents in WCDMA and LTE. The results indicate that China and Korea hold a significant number of essential patents and their numbers compete with those of leading countries. However, the analysis shows that Korea accumulated domestic knowledge that enables the country to actively participate in standardization,but China still heavily relies on foreign knowledge, probably because China is attempting to create its own standard and accumulating knowledge takes a long time despite its efforts.Our findings have several implications for leading countries and other following countries.     

Government in standardization in the catching-up context: Case of China's mobile system

This paper categorizes the multiple-faced roles of the government in technology standardization in the catching-up contexts. It presents a case that China has developed a third generation (3G) of mobile system, TD-SCDMA, and deployed it in the Chinese market. The authors attribute the success of this national standardization initiative to that the government is able to balance the interests of different stakeholders of mobile technology and market, and enroll them into the process of TD-SCDMA development and industrialization. The TD-SCDMA case demonstrates that the government in the standardization process can act as a project founder, risk undertaker, interest moderator, collaboration facilitator, and process monitor. Practical implications for developing countries in pursuing their indigenous innovation strategy are given.     

Standards,innovation, and latecomer economic development: Conceptual issues and policy challenges

Little is known about the impact of standards on the economic development of countries which are latecomers to industrial manufacturing and innovation. Standardization is regarded primarily as a technical issue, and hence receives only limited high-level policy support.However, technical standards contribute at least as much as patents to economic growth. As a key mechanism for the diffusion of technological knowledge and due to the dominant leadership by advanced countries in patenting, technical standards have emerged in latecomer countries as an alternative to patenting. However, latecomer countries and their firms have a set of capabilities and constraints that are fundamentally different from that of advanced countries and firms. This paper argues that latecomer countries should adopt assessment criteria that are more fitted with latecomer contexts which emphasize learning effects and building dynamic capabilities. The paper discusses current issues that are essential in understanding the rise of Asian countries in standardization. We also examine the critical role that patents play for standardization and argue that “strategic patenting” to generate rents from de facto industry standards can stifle latecomer economic development.     

Managing innovation networks: Exploratory evidence from ICT, biotechnology and nanotechnology networks

This study examines the management of innovation networks which has enjoyed increased recognition in the marketing literature due to its growing prominence and relevance. By testing a causal model relating network factors to outcomes, the study contributes to theory development on managing innovation at the net level of analysis. Consequently, it contributes to the respective marketing literatures on new product development, open innovation, industrial marketing and its emerging network management sub-stream. It also offers a methodological contribution as respondents include key players from businesses, government agencies, research organizations and universities rather than from only one focal organization as studies in extant literature have predominantly done. Findings are based on 219 responses from Australian high technology networks, namely, information and communications technology and biotechnology/nanotechnology. The study offers valuable implications for marketing managers involved in new product development and innovation concerning strategies for managing their inter-organizational innovation initiatives effectively.     

Chinese institutions and standardization: The case of government support to domestic third generation cellular standard

There are unique and distinct institutional processes associated with the Chinese government's support of the domestically developed third generation (3G) cellular standard, TD-SCDMA. After postponing several times, China awarded three third generation cellular licenses in January 2009: a TD-SCDMA license to China Mobile, a CDMA 2000 license to China Telecom and a WCDMA license to China Unicom. The Chinese government has demonstrated a clear bias in favor of TD-SCDMA. This article examines the role of formal and informal institutions in shaping the Chinese 3G landscape. This paper makes two contributions to the literature. First, this work extends studies on institutional theory focusing on standardization to the context of China. Second, unlike most ICT research which deals with standards originated in the West, this paper's focus on developing country-originated standard provides novel and unique insights related to institutional processes.     

Technological innovation in agricultural co-operatives in China: Implications for agro-food innovation policies

Technological innovation has become a major source of farmer co-operatives’ competitive advantage, however empirical research on co-operatives innovation in a developing country context is rare. We adopt an ethnographic case study method collecting data from 32 co-operatives managers of four exemplar co-operative cases and agricultural experts in China and collected much archival data. In addition, a Delphi study was conducted to collect data on the innovation performance. Based on the distinctive characteristics of co-operatives, we found that first knowledge spillovers and technology acquisition modes are two constructs which best capture the dynamic of technological innovation in co-operatives and develop a typology based on them. Second, grassroots and social innovation in a Chinese co-operative context have their own characters and indeed a hybrid of capitalism (e.g., agribusiness) and New Rural Re-structuring principles (i.e., similar to ICA ones). Third and finally, we provide detailed agro-food policy implications for each of the four types of co-op innovation. The results of the research may be learned by co-ops and policy makers in other developing economies who face similar challenges as in China.     

Divergent patterns of engagement in Internet standardization: Japan,Korea and China

This article analyzes the engagement of Japanese, Korean and Chinese participants in the development of Internet standards at IETF on the basis of four quantitative metrics: attendance, patenting, authorship and leadership. The results are strikingly divergent. Japanese involvement in Internet standardization began early and Japan was, for many years, second only to the U.S. in terms of IETF participation. Though Japanese participation has declined since the early 2000s, Japan remains a major contributor to IETF standardization. Korean involvement in IETF has always been significant, but below the levels of Japan and major European countries. Korean participation in IETF has also declined over the past decade, and has been dominated by one firm, Samsung. Though meaningful Chinese involvement in IETF did not begin until the mid-2000s, it has rapidly expanded in recent years. Today, China is a major player in numerous areas of Internet standardization in terms of three metrics (participation, patenting and leadership), and is rapidly gaining in terms of document authorship as well. Most of China׳s recent IETF involvement can be attributed to Huawei, though other Chinese firms have recently begun to increase their participation in the organization. Thus, contrary to some views that China׳s engagement with standardization is primarily one of indigenous innovation and “catching up”, China׳s experience with IETF demonstrates deliberate and effective engagement with a major Western standards-development organization on its own terms.     

The impact of global and local cohesion on innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

In this paper, we examine how the configuration of intraorganizational networks, and in particular, cohesion among members of an organization, influences organizations' innovative output. We argue that the cohesion among R&D scientists could be at a local level or a global level, and that local and global cohesion may have different impacts on firms' innovation performance. We test our hypotheses by examining the structure of the R&D collaboration networks within firms that operated in the pharmaceutical industry between 1981 and 1989, and their innovative outcomes—patents that led to new product launches. We find that local cohesion has a positive impact on the innovative performance of a firm, and global cohesion has a negative impact. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Business group characteristics and affiliated firm innovation: The case of Taiwan

This paper investigates the relationship between business group factors and affiliated firm innovation in terms of patents granted. We examine the following factors for business groups: group affiliation, group diversification, inside ownership, and family ties. In emerging markets, business groups act not only as an internal capital market, but also as a platform for resource sharing among affiliates. We use Taiwan's business groups as a research sample to investigate how these group factors affect affiliated firms' innovation. The findings indicate that firms that are affiliated with business groups innovate better than their unaffiliated counterparts. Group diversification and family ties have positive effects on firm innovation, while inside ownership has no significant positive effect. Our study contributes to the innovation literature by shedding light on business group factors and firm innovation.     

The contingent value of marketing strategy innovativeness for product development performance in Chinese new technology ventures

This study extends research on entrepreneurial behavior by investigating the relationship between the marketing strategy innovativeness (MSI) and new product performance in technology-based new ventures in China. Specifically, premised on contingent resource-based view we argue that MSI is a firm capability that must be bundled with external managerial relationships and be deployed in the appropriate environment to ensure its success. We found that the team's extra industry relationships and market dynamism enhanced the impact of MSI on new product performance. In contrast, top management team's intraindustry relationships, financial relationships, and technology dynamism hindered the impact of MSI on new product performance.     

Knowledge management and innovation strategy: The challenge for latecomers in emerging economies

The success of latecomer firms from the emerging economies challenges the conventional wisdom on entry timing and resource-based competence. Building on research on institutions in emerging economies and the resource-based perspective in strategic management, we propose a model to explain how resource poor latecomer firms in emerging economies catch up with the multinational incumbents. We classify latecomers based on their strategic learning intent as either emulators or blind imitators. The strategic learning intent depends on a firm’s complementary assets and its absorptive capacity. Firms that choose emulation develop flexible routines, while firms that choose blind imitation end up with rigid routines. Over time, when there is a need for resource renewal, firms that have flexible routines are better positioned to respond. We take the Chinese mobile phone industry as an exemplar to illustrate the core issues in latecomer catching up of emerging economy firms.

The adoption of agency business activity,product innovation,and performance in Chinese technology ventures

This study examines the roles of firm characteristics and environmental factors in the formation of interfirm alliances. Specifically, we examine the dual role of these groups of factors as inducements and opportunities for Chinese high‐technology new ventures (HTNVs) in their adoption of agency business activity, a downstream type of alliance involving marketing and distribution of the products of foreign firms. Results suggest that both internal and external factors are related to the adoption of agency business activity but the inducement and opportunity value of environmental uncertainty may be dampened by institutional support provided to HTNVs. Further, we find that successful agency business activity is positively related to new venture performance but negatively related to its product innovation efforts. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Marketing strategy and the efficacy of procedural justice: The mid-level marketing manager in industrial service firms

A principal challenge confronting the senior marketing team in B2B firms is how to ensure that the marketing strategies they develop are implemented effectively. The literature indicates that mid-level marketing managers' perceptions of the procedural justice within the firm may be critical in this respect. However, there has been little empirical research on this issue. The authors develop and test a conceptual model of the key drivers and consequences of marketing managers' procedural justice perceptions. The findings show that if mid-level marketing managers trust their senior marketing colleagues and simultaneously operate within moderately organic structures, then procedural justice will thrive. A consequence of this is more effective implementation of marketing strategy which, in turn, leads to increased market performance.     

The disruptor's dilemma: TiVo and the U.S. television ecosystem

Research summary: Firms introducing disruptive innovations into multisided ecosystems confront the disruptor's dilemma: gaining the support of the very incumbents they disrupt. Through a longitudinal study of TiVo, a company that pioneered the Digital Video Recorder, we examine how these firms may address this dilemma. Our analysis reveals how TiVo navigated coopetitive tensions by continually adjusting its strategy, its technology platform, and its relational positioning within the evolving U.S. television industry ecosystem. We theorize how (1) disruption may affect not just specific incumbents, but also the entire ecosystem; (2) coopetition is not just dyadic, but also multilateral and intertemporal, and (3) strategy is both a deliberative and emergent process involving continual adjustments, as the disruptor attempts to balance coopetitive tensions over time. Managerial summary: New entrants confront a dilemma when they introduce a disruptive innovation into an existing business ecosystem, viz., how can they gain the support of the incumbents that their innovation disrupts? Confronting this “disruptor's dilemma”, the disruptor must consider several issues: How might it pitch its innovation to attract end customers and yet reduce the threat of disruption perceived by ecosystem incumbents? How can the innovation be modified to fit into legacy systems while transforming them? Based on an in‐depth analysis of TiVo and its entrepreneurial journey, we explore the strategies disruptors can deploy to address these issues. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of institutional arbitrage in the search for product innovation: Firm level evidence from Norway

Evolutionary theorizing conceptualizes the discovery of new products as a successful outcome from searching for innovation in which firms combine new and old knowledge and resources. Prior research has shown that the propensity for discovering new products is greatest when firms cross a technological and/or organizational boundary in the search for new knowledge. In this paper, we add a new dimension to this literature: we examine whether, and to what extent, crossing a national boundary, as when firms use knowledge from network partners in foreign countries, influences the likelihood that firms will introduce new products into the market. Drawing on theorizing on institutional arbitrage in the literature on national innovation systems (NIS) and varieties of capitalism (VOC), we propose that companies that cross a national boundary in searching for innovation are significantly more likely to introduce new products. Detailed survey data on firms; data on their network partners, including their location; and regression analysis show that the use of knowledge from actors in foreign NIS has a positive influence on product innovation.     

Beating competitors to international markets: The value of geographically balanced networks for innovation

Being able to launch new products internationally is critical for technology‐based ventures to recoup the high costs of R&D and to exploit their innovations fully. Despite the widely recognized importance of networks within the innovation development process, there appear to be contrasting viewpoints as to whether local or foreign network partners contribute more in the race to internationalize. Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of comparative advantage, we propose and empirically confirm that ventures pursuing a balance of local and foreign network connections for the development of an innovation are able to bring the product more rapidly into the international marketplace. Furthermore, both innovation complexity and industry clockspeed heighten the importance of geographic network balance to the speed of product internationalization. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How knowledge affects radical innovation: Knowledge base,market knowledge acquisition,and internal knowledge sharing

This paper examines how existing knowledge base (i.e., knowledge breadth and depth) interacts with knowledge integration mechanisms (i.e., external market knowledge acquisition and internal knowledge sharing) to affect radical innovation. Survey data from high technology companies in China demonstrate that the effects of knowledge breadth and depth are contingent on market knowledge acquisition and knowledge sharing in opposite ways. In particular, a firm with a broad knowledge base is more likely to achieve radical innovation in the presence of internal knowledge sharing rather than market knowledge acquisition. In contrast, a firm with a deep knowledge base is more capable of developing radical innovation through market knowledge acquisition rather than internal knowledge sharing. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and return on execution of product innovation capabilities: The role of organizational structure

This paper conceptualizes and tests an integrated model that combines the dual-core and ambidextrous models of product innovation. The integrated model distinguishes the development and return on execution of radical and incremental product innovation capabilities. The authors argue that organizational structure plays an important dual role as an (a) antecedent to the development of radical and incremental product innovation capabilities and (b) as a moderator in determining the new product performance returns from executing such capabilities. Using a sample of high-tech firms, the study finds that organizational structure is more consistent in predicting the execution of product innovation capabilities into new product performance than in predicting the development of such capabilities. For example, the effect of radical product innovation capability on new product performance is negative but nonsignificant under a formal structure, while the same effect is positive under an informal structure. Conversely, the effect of incremental product innovation capability on new product performance is positive under a formal structure, while the same effect is negative under an informal structure. The implications for managing different types of product innovation capabilities under formal versus informal structures and their effects on new product performance are discussed.     

Inbound open innovation for enhanced performance: Enablers and opportunities

Open innovation, defined as a firm's purposive pursuit and integration of external inputs for new product development, offers an alternative perspective on innovation. Drawing on resource-based and capability theories, this study identifies key factors that enable inbound open innovation and increase its efficacy in a business-to-business context. Because open innovation relies on external connections, relational capability—that is, the firm's ability to make and manage relationships with other firms—should enhance the effects of inbound open innovation on firm performance. Two key resources may further enhance the moderating effects of relational capability: network spillovers that indicate knowledge-rich surroundings, and flexibility that allows for responsiveness and adaptability. The authors test these relationships with data from managers in 204 business-to-business high-tech firms, as well as secondary data pertaining to firm performance and flexibility. The results support the expectations that the ability to build interfirm relationships in a knowledge-rich environment increase the efficacy of inbound open innovation for gaining superior financial performance. Interestingly, additional analyses suggest an unexpected nonlinear interaction effect with flexibility. When firms possess strong relational capabilities and adopt an open innovation approach, they achieve higher financial performance if they have a low or a high level of flexibility. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Resource recombinations in the firm: knowledge structures and the potential for schumpeterian innovation

Building on the resource-based view of the firm, this paper explores the notion of ‘resource recombinations’ within the firm. We suggest such recombinations can occur when competencies within the firm (which are interpreted as organized clusters of firm resources) either combine to synthesize novel competencies (synthesis-based recombinations) or experience a reconfiguration or relinking with other competencies (reconfiguration-based recombinations). Central to this paper is an examination of the antecedents necessary for such innovation to occur, and in particular the nature of knowledge in the firm. We argue that several characteristics of knowledge (tacitness, context specificity, dispersion) and its social organization (the way competencies come to be formed and institutionalized) will have important consequences on the likelihoods of resource recombinations. Our paper develops a model of resource recombination likelihoods and propositions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.