It is argued that the firm is the principal source of innovation and growth, a device for the establishment of technological competence, and for its continued development over time. Markets, products and background knowledge may change quite dramatically over time. Yet as a result of the...

The literature on innovation has been both rich and varied in approach and has provided much insight into the process of, and difficulties contained within, innovation. A number of important concepts including those of path dependency, technological trajectories, together with the plethora of...

Motives for foreign multinational investment in China are gradually shifting from being primarily either market-seeking or efficiency-seeking towards competence-seeking motives. Are such moves justified and what might Chinese patent data tell us about where such competencies are located and...

Recent work on SMEs and networks has emphasised the importance of external co-operative ties in enhancing firms’ innovative performance. These external ties provide resource constrained SMEs with access to a wider set of technological opportunities through information sharing and resource...

This paper investigates vertical knowledge transfers from inward-invested multinational enterprises to indigenous Chinese suppliers in the electrical and electronics industry in Wuxi, China. Through 16 dyadic case studies, a three-stage pathway of relationship development is established in which...