Pub Date : 2025-08-12DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105309
Egbert Amoncio , Tian Chan , Cornelia Storz
Competition among firms has increasingly been through design. We show how computer vision algorithms can be leveraged to measure the visual similarity of design rights across large data sets of product design images. In particular: we extract and standardize 716,168 unique design images included in US design patents (1976–2023); adapt the structural similarity index measure to quantify design similarities between images; and rigorously validate the resulting measure of design rights similarity. We then use that measure to produce novel empirical evidence that a design space's similarity density exhibits an inverted U-shape with respect to the likelihood of that space's design rights being litigated—a relationship proposed previously but never tested. Our design rights similarity measure should facilitate the exploration of new research questions in the fields of design rights, innovation, and strategy. We grant open access to our code and data resources to encourage research in such fields.
{"title":"Using computer vision to measure design similarity: An application to design rights","authors":"Egbert Amoncio , Tian Chan , Cornelia Storz","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105309","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105309","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Competition among firms has increasingly been through design. We show how computer vision algorithms can be leveraged to measure the visual similarity of design rights across large data sets of product design images. In particular: we extract and standardize 716,168 unique design images included in US design patents (1976–2023); adapt the structural similarity index measure to quantify design similarities between images; and rigorously validate the resulting measure of design rights similarity. We then use that measure to produce novel empirical evidence that a design space's similarity density exhibits an inverted U-shape with respect to the likelihood of that space's design rights being litigated—a relationship proposed previously but never tested. Our design rights similarity measure should facilitate the exploration of new research questions in the fields of design rights, innovation, and strategy. We grant open access to our code and data resources to encourage research in such fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 9","pages":"Article 105309"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144829979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-12DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105292
Jane Bjørn Vedel , Jacob Hasselbalch , Susana Borrás , Alan Irwin , Vera Simoneit
In a world increasingly shaped by geopolitical divides, technological disruption, and the climate crisis, Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) is more essential than ever. However, the TIP research field holds considerable potential to move beyond its current state of the art by incorporating a more sophisticated organizational perspective. This paper responds to a recent call for new analytical tools in TIP by proposing that valuable insights can be drawn from Organization Theory (OT) scholarship. By reviewing and categorizing recent OT research on transformative innovation, we show how engagement with this literature can yield novel insights within key TIP gap areas and beyond. In particular, recent OT work on emotions, social movements, and temporality offers promising opportunities to deepen TIP's understanding of capabilities, experimentation, and the systemic impact of policy interventions. More broadly, this paper contributes to TIP debates by advocating for stronger cross-pollination with OT to enhance the field's theoretical foundation and practical relevance. We conclude that closer interaction between OT and TIP can enable more effective approaches to transformative innovation.
{"title":"Organizing transformative innovation: Advancing an organizational research agenda within Transformative Innovation Policy","authors":"Jane Bjørn Vedel , Jacob Hasselbalch , Susana Borrás , Alan Irwin , Vera Simoneit","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105292","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105292","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a world increasingly shaped by geopolitical divides, technological disruption, and the climate crisis, Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) is more essential than ever. However, the TIP research field holds considerable potential to move beyond its current state of the art by incorporating a more sophisticated organizational perspective. This paper responds to a recent call for new analytical tools in TIP by proposing that valuable insights can be drawn from Organization Theory (OT) scholarship. By reviewing and categorizing recent OT research on transformative innovation, we show how engagement with this literature can yield novel insights within key TIP gap areas and beyond. In particular, recent OT work on emotions, social movements, and temporality offers promising opportunities to deepen TIP's understanding of capabilities, experimentation, and the systemic impact of policy interventions. More broadly, this paper contributes to TIP debates by advocating for stronger cross-pollination with OT to enhance the field's theoretical foundation and practical relevance. We conclude that closer interaction between OT and TIP can enable more effective approaches to transformative innovation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 9","pages":"Article 105292"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144829977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-12DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105304
Alessandra Perri , Daniela Silvestri , Francesco Zirpoli
Traditional models of creative destruction posit that established firms often stick to their dominant technology, exhibiting resistance to change even when new technologies emerge. However, recent perspectives challenge this view, suggesting that incumbents can adapt and innovate in response to technological disruption. This paper contributes to this debate by asking, “What factors influence incumbent firms' sustained market dominance amidst technological change?” We address this question by focusing on the automotive industry — a multi-technology sector characterised by products integrating diverse technological components with varying rates of change, and where incumbents serve a central role as “systems integrators.” By analysing the patent portfolios of the top 25 automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) over a 30-year period (1990–2019), we provide valuable insights into innovation patterns within the automotive sector, specifically concerning the emergence of new technological fields and shifts in industry composition. Our analysis reveals that the structure and evolution of the industry's knowledge base inherently protect incumbents from new entrants, thereby explaining their dominance. This theoretical perspective, coupled with the observed transformation of the automotive industry, highlights the need to investigate whether incumbents' primacy in technological development alone could prevent a future industry shakeout in the absence of relevant investments in product and process innovation. The paper further argues that incumbent inertia amidst technological discontinuities presents a challenge for policymakers, emphasizing the potential need for regulatory intervention to accelerate the transition towards a greener automotive industry.
{"title":"Technological change, incumbent dominance, and knowledge base evolution in multi-technology industries: A patent analysis of the global automotive sector","authors":"Alessandra Perri , Daniela Silvestri , Francesco Zirpoli","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105304","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105304","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Traditional models of creative destruction posit that established firms often stick to their dominant technology, exhibiting resistance to change even when new technologies emerge. However, recent perspectives challenge this view, suggesting that incumbents can adapt and innovate in response to technological disruption. This paper contributes to this debate by asking, “What factors influence incumbent firms' sustained market dominance amidst technological change?” We address this question by focusing on the automotive industry — a multi-technology sector characterised by products integrating diverse technological components with varying rates of change, and where incumbents serve a central role as “systems integrators.” By analysing the patent portfolios of the top 25 automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) over a 30-year period (1990–2019), we provide valuable insights into innovation patterns within the automotive sector, specifically concerning the emergence of new technological fields and shifts in industry composition. Our analysis reveals that the structure and evolution of the industry's knowledge base inherently protect incumbents from new entrants, thereby explaining their dominance. This theoretical perspective, coupled with the observed transformation of the automotive industry, highlights the need to investigate whether incumbents' primacy in technological development alone could prevent a future industry shakeout in the absence of relevant investments in product and process innovation. The paper further argues that incumbent inertia amidst technological discontinuities presents a challenge for policymakers, emphasizing the potential need for regulatory intervention to accelerate the transition towards a greener automotive industry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 9","pages":"Article 105304"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144829978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105290
Christian Catalini , Xiang Hui
We study investment syndication on an equity crowdfunding platform where experts (syndicate leads) curate and invest in early-stage firms on behalf of other investors in exchange for shared profit. We provide evidence that this model outperforms direct investments, especially for non-Californian startups with less publicly available information. Additional analyses suggest the better performance comes from reduced asymmetric information and lower transaction costs through better access to quality deals and lower effort for evaluating and monitoring startups. Using a large-scale field experiment, we find that investors are more likely to explore syndicate leads’ profiles when provided information about their network size and favorable track record, suggesting that investors value these two attributes when evaluating leads. A survey of 44 active investors shows that large networks are perceived as signals of access to quality deals, reputation, and due diligence, while track record is perceived as a signal of leads’ ability and a direct measure of success. These findings suggest that the syndication model can enhance market efficiency in equity crowdfunding and that emphasizing leads’ professional networks and past performance can be an effective strategy for increasing adoption of the model.
{"title":"Syndication in equity crowdfunding: Performance and the evaluation of experts","authors":"Christian Catalini , Xiang Hui","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105290","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105290","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We study investment syndication on an equity crowdfunding platform where experts (syndicate leads) curate and invest in early-stage firms on behalf of other investors in exchange for shared profit. We provide evidence that this model outperforms direct investments, especially for non-Californian startups with less publicly available information. Additional analyses suggest the better performance comes from reduced asymmetric information and lower transaction costs through better access to quality deals and lower effort for evaluating and monitoring startups. Using a large-scale field experiment, we find that investors are more likely to explore syndicate leads’ profiles when provided information about their network size and favorable track record, suggesting that investors value these two attributes when evaluating leads. A survey of 44 active investors shows that large networks are perceived as signals of access to quality deals, reputation, and due diligence, while track record is perceived as a signal of leads’ ability and a direct measure of success. These findings suggest that the syndication model can enhance market efficiency in equity crowdfunding and that emphasizing leads’ professional networks and past performance can be an effective strategy for increasing adoption of the model.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 9","pages":"Article 105290"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144779406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-02DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105296
Miriam Manchin
This research examines how time zone differences among co-authors of peer-reviewed articles influence citations. The analysis reveals that articles with authors spanning wider time zones receive more citations, even after controlling for physical distance, the number of co-authors, the number of countries, time since publication, journal-specific factors, and in some specifications also co-author team specific factors with fixed effects. Specifically, a one-hour increase in the average time zone difference between authors is associated with a 4% increase in citations compared to the sample mean. The relationship exhibits an inverted U-shape, where a time zone difference of 5 to 6 h, which allows for sufficient overlap, yields the highest positive coefficient (about 15% increase in citations). Field specific results indicate that one potential mechanism through which time zone differences can improve publication outcome is by facilitating faster collaboration and accelerating research outcomes.
{"title":"Collaboration across the globe: Time zone differences and citations","authors":"Miriam Manchin","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105296","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105296","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research examines how time zone differences among co-authors of peer-reviewed articles influence citations. The analysis reveals that articles with authors spanning wider time zones receive more citations, even after controlling for physical distance, the number of co-authors, the number of countries, time since publication, journal-specific factors, and in some specifications also co-author team specific factors with fixed effects. Specifically, a one-hour increase in the average time zone difference between authors is associated with a 4% increase in citations compared to the sample mean. The relationship exhibits an inverted U-shape, where a time zone difference of 5 to 6 h, which allows for sufficient overlap, yields the highest positive coefficient (about 15% increase in citations). Field specific results indicate that one potential mechanism through which time zone differences can improve publication outcome is by facilitating faster collaboration and accelerating research outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 8","pages":"Article 105296"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144756712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-31DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105305
Junwei Shi , Jiajia Zhang
A theoretical model is developed in this study to account for how the technology cycle time affects firm innovation from the perspective of latecomers. Empirical estimations using data from listed companies in China from 1990 to 2022 are conducted. The results show that the more latecomer firms specialize in technologies with short TCTs, the more likely it is for them to enhance innovation performance. Moderating effects of human capital and R&D investment on the relationship between short TCT and firm innovation are verified. Moreover, the impacts of short TCT on firm innovation are stronger when firms are in environments with high uncertainty; when firms are in highly competitive, high-tech, and high reverse engineering industries; and when firms are private, capital-intensive, and in the earlier stages of the lifecycle. The findings offer new insights into the technological catch-up of latecomers in emerging economies by choosing technologies with short TCTs.
{"title":"Short technology cycle time and firm innovation: Evidence from China","authors":"Junwei Shi , Jiajia Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105305","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105305","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A theoretical model is developed in this study to account for how the technology cycle time affects firm innovation from the perspective of latecomers. Empirical estimations using data from listed companies in China from 1990 to 2022 are conducted. The results show that the more latecomer firms specialize in technologies with short TCTs, the more likely it is for them to enhance innovation performance. Moderating effects of human capital and R&D investment on the relationship between short TCT and firm innovation are verified. Moreover, the impacts of short TCT on firm innovation are stronger when firms are in environments with high uncertainty; when firms are in highly competitive, high-tech, and high reverse engineering industries; and when firms are private, capital-intensive, and in the earlier stages of the lifecycle. The findings offer new insights into the technological catch-up of latecomers in emerging economies by choosing technologies with short TCTs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 8","pages":"Article 105305"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144739317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-28DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105301
Dimitrios Gounopoulos , Winifred Huang , Min Yang
We explore the relationship between innovation and annual report readability using multiple innovation metrics. While lower readability can boost innovation, an inverted U-shaped link with patents suggests that excessive opacity becomes counterproductive. We identify two underlying mechanisms—preserving competitive advantages and concealing risks. Consistent with the first mechanism, the innovation-readability link is stronger in competitive markets, where firms reduce transparency to better protect themselves from competitors. In line with the second mechanism, the innovation-readability link is stronger for riskier firms. Overall, our findings support the idea that firms strategically tailor their disclosure to match their innovation needs.
{"title":"Innovation and annual report readability","authors":"Dimitrios Gounopoulos , Winifred Huang , Min Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105301","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105301","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We explore the relationship between innovation and annual report readability using multiple innovation metrics. While lower readability can boost innovation, an inverted U-shaped link with patents suggests that excessive opacity becomes counterproductive. We identify two underlying mechanisms—preserving competitive advantages and concealing risks. Consistent with the first mechanism, the innovation-readability link is stronger in competitive markets, where firms reduce transparency to better protect themselves from competitors. In line with the second mechanism, the innovation-readability link is stronger for riskier firms. Overall, our findings support the idea that firms strategically tailor their disclosure to match their innovation needs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 8","pages":"Article 105301"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144714305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-23DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105266
Klaus Ackermann , Wendy A. Bradley , Jack Francis Cameron
We show how the content of information goods changes the substitutability or complementarity effects of copyright infringement. Leveraging the quasi-random timing of the appearance of a high-quality pirated movie after its release in-theaters, alongside an instrumental-variables approach, we find that digital piracy complements box-office revenue for “spectacle”-oriented films, where the value of the good is linked to in-theater viewing. For “story”-oriented films, where the value is inherent—unenhanced by in-theater viewing—piracy displaces sales. Our findings suggest the value of creative content is linked to its distribution context, with relevance for commercialization and value capture strategies in creative industries with experience-goods properties.
{"title":"Avengers assemble! When digital piracy increases box office demand","authors":"Klaus Ackermann , Wendy A. Bradley , Jack Francis Cameron","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105266","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105266","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We show how the content of information goods changes the substitutability or complementarity effects of copyright infringement. Leveraging the quasi-random timing of the appearance of a high-quality pirated movie after its release in-theaters, alongside an instrumental-variables approach, we find that digital piracy complements box-office revenue for “spectacle”-oriented films, where the value of the good is linked to in-theater viewing. For “story”-oriented films, where the value is inherent—unenhanced by in-theater viewing—piracy displaces sales. Our findings suggest the value of creative content is linked to its distribution context, with relevance for commercialization and value capture strategies in creative industries with experience-goods properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 8","pages":"Article 105266"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144687291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105300
Annabelle Gawer , Martín Harracá
This study investigates how complementors' experiences of platform governance impact their compliance behaviour in digital ecosystems. In an inductive qualitative study of Amazon Marketplace, we find that Amazon sellers engage in behaviours ranging from full compliance to repeated infringement. Sellers also report experiencing sustained discrepancies between the platform's declared practices, which ostensibly support sellers' interests, and its undeclared practices, which appear not to. Additionally, we find evidence that the sellers' experience of this inconsistent platform governance can trigger social contagion of misconduct. We develop a process model that elucidates the mechanisms of this social contagion: when complementors observe the platform to be an unreliable enforcer of its own rules and notice that cheating complementors seem to go unpunished and prosper, it erodes their trust in the platform, which leads some of them to legitimize misconduct as a defense against unfair competition under what they perceive to be the indifferent eye of the platform authority. In our discussion, we develop three contributions: (1) We theorise the observed inconsistent platform governance and suggest that it may be an endemic feature of platform behaviour caused by tensions between the platform's conflicting objectives. (2) We enrich the platform strategy literature by expanding our understanding of how complementors experience platform power. (3) We clarify how the study validates and extends theories of social contagion. We conclude with a discussion of the study's limitations, avenues for future research, and policy implications.
{"title":"Inconsistent platform governance and social contagion of misconduct in digital ecosystems: A complementors perspective","authors":"Annabelle Gawer , Martín Harracá","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105300","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105300","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates how complementors' experiences of platform governance impact their compliance behaviour in digital ecosystems. In an inductive qualitative study of Amazon Marketplace, we find that Amazon sellers engage in behaviours ranging from full compliance to repeated infringement. Sellers also report experiencing sustained discrepancies between the platform's declared practices, which ostensibly support sellers' interests, and its undeclared practices, which appear not to. Additionally, we find evidence that the sellers' experience of this inconsistent platform governance can trigger social contagion of misconduct. We develop a process model that elucidates the mechanisms of this social contagion: when complementors observe the platform to be an unreliable enforcer of its own rules and notice that cheating complementors seem to go unpunished and prosper, it erodes their trust in the platform, which leads some of them to legitimize misconduct as a defense against unfair competition under what they perceive to be the indifferent eye of the platform authority. In our discussion, we develop three contributions: (1) We theorise the observed inconsistent platform governance and suggest that it may be an endemic feature of platform behaviour caused by tensions between the platform's conflicting objectives. (2) We enrich the platform strategy literature by expanding our understanding of how complementors experience platform power. (3) We clarify how the study validates and extends theories of social contagion. We conclude with a discussion of the study's limitations, avenues for future research, and policy implications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 8","pages":"Article 105300"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144672361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-19DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105299
Zhijing Zhu , Haiyang Li
The technological catch-up literature has not yet systematically assessed how different industries from latecomer economies have progressed in catching up. A significant challenge is the lack of reliable measures of innovation capability across countries, industries, and time. In this study, we develop a new measure of innovation capability called quality-weighted revealed innovation advantage (QRIA), which captures innovation capability more comprehensively and reliably than extant measures by simultaneously addressing issues of patent quantity distortion and patent quality heterogeneity. We apply QRIA to evaluate how globally competitive Chinese manufacturing industries (N = 22) have become in terms of innovation capability by using data from all invention patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) between 1983 and 2017. Using China as the empirical context, our study provides the first worldwide comparative evidence of technological catch-up across countries and industries over time. Our analyses reveal that while Chinese manufacturing industries have seen significant growth in patents, there are notable differences and time-varying changes in their innovation capabilities compared to their global counterparts. Only two industries have narrowed their gaps with global leaders: (1) computer, electronic, and optical products manufacturing and (2) electrical equipment manufacturing. The other industries have either fallen further behind global leaders or remained close to the average innovation capability.
{"title":"Technological catch-up: A new measure and patent-based evidence from China's manufacturing industries","authors":"Zhijing Zhu , Haiyang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105299","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.respol.2025.105299","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The technological catch-up literature has not yet systematically assessed how different industries from latecomer economies have progressed in catching up. A significant challenge is the lack of reliable measures of innovation capability across countries, industries, and time. In this study, we develop a new measure of innovation capability called quality-weighted revealed innovation advantage (QRIA), which captures innovation capability more comprehensively and reliably than extant measures by simultaneously addressing issues of patent quantity distortion and patent quality heterogeneity. We apply QRIA to evaluate how globally competitive Chinese manufacturing industries (N = 22) have become in terms of innovation capability by using data from all invention patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) between 1983 and 2017. Using China as the empirical context, our study provides the first worldwide comparative evidence of technological catch-up across countries and industries over time. Our analyses reveal that while Chinese manufacturing industries have seen significant growth in patents, there are notable differences and time-varying changes in their innovation capabilities compared to their global counterparts. Only two industries have narrowed their gaps with global leaders: (1) computer, electronic, and optical products manufacturing and (2) electrical equipment manufacturing. The other industries have either fallen further behind global leaders or remained close to the average innovation capability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48466,"journal":{"name":"Research Policy","volume":"54 8","pages":"Article 105299"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144662953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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