Research On The Mode Of R&D Cooperation And Knowledge Innovation Process For Latecomers’ Catching-up

Latecomers improved their innovation capabilities with the development of newly industrialized economics, more and more latecomers target their strategy to catching up with the forerunners. Theories and practices show that R&D cooperation with forerunners is an important way for latecomers to catching up. The latecomers would get access to the advanced knowledge of forerunners, and improve their innovation capabilities in shorter time and speed up the Catching-up process. Although many latecomers have cooperated with forerunners in R&D aiming at Catching-up, the corresponding research is limited, especially the research about the mode of R&D cooperation between latecomers and forerunners and the knowledge innovation process and the improvement of innovation capability in this mode. Considering this situation, this thesis focus on the equipment manufacturing industry and tries to answer this question by theoretical research and case study: how latecomers catch up with forerunners through R&D cooperation? Based on the exploratory case study of two Chinese equipment manufacturing corporations, the mode of R&D cooperation for latecomers’ Catching-up is deduced. The analysis of knowledge linkage mechanism and knowledge innovation process in this mode will provide theoretical reference and practical guidance for latecomers, including Chinese corporations to catching up with the forerunners by cooperating with them in R&D activities.This dissertation defines conceptions related to R&D cooperation for latecomers’ catching up, and develops the theoretical framework based on the analysis knowledge innovation process. Defining the conception of R&D cooperation for latecomers’ catching-up, this dissertation identifies the R&D flow and stages, confirms the core and periphery knowledge in R&D process, and classifies the mode of R&D cooperation and corresponding characters. This dissertation also describes the character and the process of knowledge innovation in R&D cooperation, and discusses the improvement of latecomers’ innovation capability and the catching-up process. Then the theoretical framework of R&D cooperation mode for latecomers’ catching-up and its knowledge innovation process is developed, which will be the theoretical basis for the following parts of this dissertation.The types of R&D cooperation mode is identified in the dimension of partnership and knowledge area, and the mode of R&D cooperation for latecomers’ catching-up is deduced from cases study. Though the mode of R&D cooperation for latecomers’ catching-up is “mentoring”, its particularity still needs to be found. So two cases of China’s equipment manufacturing corporation cooperation with forerunners are introduced, and the results show that the latecomers cooperate with forerunners in the area of periphery knowledge firstly, and then permeate their core knowledge. The latecomers absorb, integrate and create new knowledge inside their corporation, and improve their innovation capabilities. Based on this case study, the mode of R&D cooperation for latecomers’ catching-up is deduced, which is the “Periphery-core” mode of R&D cooperation.Knowledge interlinkage theory is introduced to explain the mechanism of the “Periphery-core” mode of R&D cooperation, since there might be knowledge interlinkage between periphery knowledge and core knowledge, and the interlinkage mechanism is deduced with set methods. Case of R&D cooperation is introduced to test the linkage between periphery knowledge and core knowledge. Based on the analysis of knowledge interlinkage and its tool(i. e. knowledge map), there might be relationship such as identity, subordination and correlation between periphery knowledge and core knowledge, which ensure the permeation of core knowledge from periphery knowledge. Knowledge map and set method are used to deduce the process that latecomers permeate the forerunners’ core knowledge from periphery knowledge relying on the knowledge interlinkage. The knowledge linkage mechanism is finally test by the case of R&D cooperation between Dongan and GE.The concept model of knowledge innovation process in the “Periphery-core” mode of R&D cooperation is developed, and its three stages are discussed. The latecomers share the forerunners’ periphery knowledge in formal and in formal ways, and learn this knowledge through Science-Technology-Innovation(STI) learning and Doing-Using-Interacting(DUI) learning. The knowledge absorptive capacity in this process is emphasized especially. Identifying the factors effecting knowledge spillover, the knowledge spillover process is discussed, as well as the path and motive power in this process. Th e knowledge integration mechanism is discussed based on the knowledge integration platform. Based on the analysis of every stages of knowledge innovation process, this dissertation draws a conclusion that the knowledge innovation process begins with periph ery knowledge sharing, and ending with knowledge integration through core knowledge spillover, which is the character of the knowledge innovation process in “Periphery-core” mode of R&D cooperation.Based on the theoretical analysis above, this dissertatio n simulates the latecomers’ catching-up process in the “Periphery-core” mode of R&D cooperation. The simulation results show that the amount of knowledge sharing and knowledge spillover increases after a little wave, the knowledge amount and the innovation capability of latecomers improves step by step, which narrows the knowledge potential difference between latecomers and forerunners. however, the knowledge potential difference stops narrowing at a specific spot, which means that the R&D cooperation with forerunners is not enough for latecomers to catch up, and the latecomers need to improve their innovation capabilities unremittingly after the R&D cooperation.At the end of this discussion, some policies are provided to latecomers for catching-up. The latecomers should pay more attention to the knowledge interlinkage between periphery knowledge and core knowledge, which is the key to permeate successfully; more and more communication is needed for the latecomers to improve the spillover of core knowledge; the latecomers should also devote themselves to improve their knowledge absorptive capacity and knowledge integrative capacity, so as to lay a basis for the improvement of innovation capability. Besides, choosing a right partner according to the suitable knowledge distance is the precondition for latecomers to catch up through R&D cooperation.