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Article
Publication date: 25 May 2020

Jie Wu, Xinhe Zhang, Shuaihe Zhuo, Martin Meyer, Bin Li and Haifeng Yan

The authors attempt to answer the basic questions: How is imitation tied to innovation? This question is addressed in the context of China's innovation system in the 2000s where…

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Abstract

Purpose

The authors attempt to answer the basic questions: How is imitation tied to innovation? This question is addressed in the context of China's innovation system in the 2000s where Chinese industrial firms simultaneously implement innovation and imitation strategies in their new product developments.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first build on lattice theory and supermodularity theory to provide a rigorous and careful mathematical proof. The authors further conduct the empirical analyses using an original data on Chinese manufacturing firms' innovation and imitation strategies in the development of new products in 2002.

Findings

This article reveals the complementarity relation between imitation and innovation strategies and identifies external knowledge search as the boundary condition that influences the extent to which two strategies reinforce each other.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of the imitation-innovation complementarity suggest that imitation is not only an indispensable strategy independent of innovation, but also is vital to the effectiveness of innovation itself.

Practical implications

The imitation-innovation complementarity finding provides some evidence for the contention that Chinese latecomers exploit the synergies of imitation and innovation, transforming themselves from imitators to innovators and vibrant competitors in the global market (Wu et al., 2016) and, as a result, national innovation system has evolved from a state-sponsored imitation program to the imitation-innovation mixture.

Originality/value

In contrast to earlier innovation studies in which innovation and imitation are unrelated, this study reveals that imitation complements innovation, and the extent of Chinese firms' external knowledge search affects the complementary relationship between imitation and innovation. These findings add important insights to the innovation management literature and contribute empirical evidence to the interplay of innovation and imitation enhancing national innovation system.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 21 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

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Article
Publication date: 3 May 2013

Fung Kwan, Yanrui Wu and Shuaihe Zhuo

This paper aims to contribute to the pool of studies of rural underemployment in China. It is devoted to the conceptualization and measurement of surplus labour.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to contribute to the pool of studies of rural underemployment in China. It is devoted to the conceptualization and measurement of surplus labour.

Design/methodology/approach

The agricultural labour requirement function is estimated by the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) with China's prefecture‐level data. Surplus labour or inefficient labour is obtained by subtracting the required labour from the actual labour participated in agriculture.

Findings

The authors' analysis indicates that the existing size of agricultural surplus labour in rural China is still significantly large with the continued practice of the household registration system and China's WTO membership. However, the size has been decreasing over the last decade.

Research limitations/implications

Quality of data might affect the authors' estimates.

Practical implications

The phenomenon of the coexistence of surplus agricultural labour and shortage of workers in non‐agricultural production in urban China was discussed in line with the authors' research findings, as this has important impacts on the policies of rural industrialization in China.

Social implications

This paper further argues that China is probably experiencing the second stage of the Lewis‐Fei‐Ranis dualistic economic framework.

Originality/value

The authors' paper is probably the first to use prefecture data and SFA for panel data study of surplus agricultural labour in China. The analysis is essential to the understanding of the rural labour market during its rapid transition.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

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