Demystifying China's Innovation Machine: Chaotic Order

China's economic development is driven by a complex system of bottom-up innovation and top-down policy, resembling a natural ecosystem. It draws on manufacturers, supply chains, innovation clusters, and a digitally literate population, connected through digital platforms. While it lacks basic research and relies on critical technologies from overseas, its scale and scope make it self-correcting and stronger in the face of challenges. Policy pragmatism, mass innovation, and entrepreneurship are key to its future success.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 08 December 2021
Publisher: Oxford University Press

China's remarkable economic development is largely attributed to its innovative prowess. Contrary to popular belief, China's innovation machine is not solely driven and controlled by an all-powerful government. Instead, it is a complex, interconnected system comprising various elements, including bottom-up innovation driven by innovators and entrepreneurs and highly pragmatic and adaptive top-down policy. This book employs case studies of leading firms and industries, along with statistics and policy analysis, to argue that China's innovation machine resembles a natural ecosystem. Innovations in technology, organization, and business models mimic genetic mutations, initially random, self-serving, and isolated, but the most suitable ones are selected by the market, amplifying their impacts through the innovation machine. This machine harnesses the resources of China's vast manufacturing base, supply chains, innovation clusters, and digitally literate population, interconnected through super-sized digital platforms. While China's innovation faces challenges due to a lack of basic research and reliance on certain critical technologies from overseas, its scale (size) and scope (diversity) provide attributes that make it self-correcting and resilient in the face of adversity. China's innovation machine thrives in a policy environment where the market prevails; policy intervention becomes crucial when market mechanisms are premature or fail. The future success of China's innovation will hinge on maintaining policy pragmatism, fostering mass innovation, and nurturing entrepreneurship, alongside the development of new infrastructures.

Weight: 618g
Dimension: 165 x 242 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198861171