- Chen Qiangyuan;Zhao Haoyun;Lin Sitong;Shen Yu;
The world today is undergoing disruptive, transformative shifts driven by a new wave of technological revolutions and industrial changes. In this context, a central question for China's innovation-driven development strategy is how to effectively identify and measure high-quality technological innovations. Drawing on the stylized facts and scenario narrative of China's technological landscape, this paper proposes a framework and measurement system for evaluating high-quality technological innovations. While China's top-level design for technological innovation is guided by policy documents, the increasing number of enterprises applying for “high-tech enterprise” status has coincided with a decline in the quality of patent filings. In response, this paper first underscores the challenges and necessity of measuring the quality of technological innovations. Second, we introduce the high-quality technological innovation indicators and employ them to assess the quality of tech innovations at the firm level, utilizing an approach that combines analogical narrative, gene coding, text analysis, semantic logic, and a database of granted invention patents in China. Third, we examine the systematic and individual biases inherent in citation counts, a commonly used indicator, under specific contexts, and employ a granular instrumental variable approach to validate the effectiveness of the indicators. Finally, we develop a “family tree” of the indicators and explore their application scenarios through a combination of established and extended indicators. Our findings provide a theoretical foundation for evaluating China's technological innovation quality, inform policy incentives, and offer insights for academia to apply high-quality technological innovation indicators in different contexts.
2025年01期 v.20 2-28页 [查看摘要][在线阅读][下载 601K] - Li Jian;Zhao Lexin;Yao Nengzhi;Bai Junhong;
As stated in the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC), innovation remains at the heart of China's modernization drive, and it is vital to optimize the allocation of innovation resources, deepen structural scientific and technological reforms, and enhance the overall performance of China's innovation system. Government incentives have boosted firm R&D and innovation efforts; however, they have also triggered an innovation dilemma where enterprises, capitalizing on their informational advantages, resort to innovation-washing behaviors that undermine the intended purpose of the policies. Based on the information asymmetry theory, this paper conducts an empirical study on how the digital economy affects firms' innovation-washing behavior. The development of the regional digital economy could suppress firm innovationwashing behavior in the region, and such a mitigation effect is primarily caused by an increase in the number of digital industry professionals. According to our heterogeneity analysis, the digital economy has a greater impact on firm innovation-washing behavior for certain types of enterprises, including non-state-owned enterprises(non-SOEs), small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs), enterprises in less competitive industries, and enterprises in unfavorable business environments. Our mechanism analysis revealed that the digital economy may restrain innovation-washing behavior by reducing information asymmetry between enterprises and external stakeholders. In terms of economic outcomes, the digital economy has the potential to directly influence firm innovation output while also indirectly mitigating the subsequent decline in innovation output by discouraging innovationwashing. This paper enriches the research findings on how the digital economy breaks down “information silos” and offers a potential solution to the “emphasis on input and quantity over quality and efficiency” phenomenon in science and technology innovation practices.
2025年01期 v.20 29-54页 [查看摘要][在线阅读][下载 500K] - Dai Hongwei;Zheng Lichen;
Using data from the 11th to 14th Five-Year Plan periods(2006-2025), this study applies a Difference-in-Differences(DID) approach to assess the impact of industrial policy withdrawal. Industries that have faced policy withdrawal for over a decade are categorized as the treatment group, while consistently supported industries form the control group.The analysis examines how withdrawal affects firm total factor productivity(TFP) and investment behavior. The results show that policy withdrawal boosts firm TFP by reducing over-investment and improving the efficiency of R&D spending. This effect is particularly evident in industries with strong, competitive leading firms. Additionally, in regions with lower levels of marketization, timely policy withdrawal plays a key role in curbing overinvestment. This study also highlights a dual effect of policy withdrawal: while it fosters corporate social responsibility, it may also encourage financial speculation. These findings suggest that the implementation of industrial policy should provide “timely assistance”over a limited timeframe rather than long-term support to well-established industries. As industries mature, policy support should be gradually reduced or phased out to avoid overinvestment and enhance firm efficiency.
2025年01期 v.20 55-76页 [查看摘要][在线阅读][下载 675K] - Shan Yu;Chen Jinlong;
Hidden champions play a critical role in China's efforts to overcome technological and industrial “chokepoints”. These enterprises are pivotal for breaking free from Western technological embargoes, avoiding entrapment in low-value-added production, and driving industrial upgrading. Given the distinct market environment in which China's hidden champions have emerged, it is both timely and practically significant to examine their growth trajectories and underlying mechanisms. This study adopts a resource allocation perspective to investigate the development path of Chinese manufacturing enterprises into hidden champions, using a vertical case study of Hailiya Group. The findings reveal that such enterprises achieve hidden champion status by vertically concentrating on niche markets while harnessing technological potential and horizontally diversifying their technology application scenarios. Their growth follows a “T-shaped” strategy, combining vertical specialization in a focused market with horizontal expansion into new applications. Four critical mechanisms underpin the rise of manufacturing hidden champions: market niche positioning,innovation-driven focus, application scenario expansion, and ecosystem development.Specifically, these enterprises strategically target niche markets, establish a technologyoriented competitive edge, broaden technology applications to unlock new profit opportunities,and develop collaborative ecosystems to share resources and drive industrial advancement. This paper not only extends the interpretive boundaries of resource allocation theory but also offers fresh insights into the emergence of Chinese manufacturing enterprises as hidden champions, enriching our understanding of their unique growth dynamics.
2025年01期 v.20 78-100页 [查看摘要][在线阅读][下载 476K] - Lin Pengsheng;Li Shuo;
Mandate-based and market-based mechanisms represent two primary approaches to achieving policy objectives, yet the debate over their relative effectiveness remains unresolved. The mandate-based approach is exemplified by pilot programs for lowcarbon provinces and cities, referred to as “Low-Carbon Pilot Provinces/Cities”, while the market-based mechanism is reflected in pilot programs for carbon emissions trading markets, or “Carbon Trading Pilot Programs”. This paper employs event study analysis to compare the carbon emission reduction impacts of these two approaches. Our findings reveal that the Low-Carbon Pilot Provinces/Cities achieved emissions reduction primarily by curbing economic output, without significantly reducing carbon emissions intensity. In contrast, the Carbon Trading Pilot Programs led to an increase in total carbon emissions by driving economic growth, even as they reduced carbon emissions intensity. A heterogeneity analysis further indicates that the emissions reductions observed in the Low-Carbon Pilot Provinces/Cities were predominantly concentrated in economically less-developed regions, whereas the increase in carbon emissions associated with the Carbon Trading Pilot Programs was more significant in regions with lower initial carbon emissions intensity.Against the backdrop of China's efforts to achieve its carbon peak and neutrality goals, this paper offers valuable insights for the design of effective climate policies.
2025年01期 v.20 101-124页 [查看摘要][在线阅读][下载 561K] 下载本期数据