Search

This paper examines how latecomer firms manage to achieve industrial upgrading through strategic coupling with global lead firms in automotive production networks. Drawing upon the example of the Guangzhou Automotive Corporation in southern China, this paper theorizes 'cross‐scalar tension' as a key factor to explain why the four cases of strategic coupling between lead firms, the same domestic firm and state ended in different results, from decoupling to a sustainable coupling with local upgrading. This paper contributes to the pertinent literature by demonstrating that cross‐scalar tension is inherent to the nature of global production networks, and unreconciled tension concerning different corporate strategies on technological transfer, localization and product development could lead to decoupling. Importantly, good coordination and matching on corporate strategies between lead and domestic firms could relieve cross‐scalar tensions, thus fostering local industrial upgrading and sustainable strategic coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China and India are heavily dependent on high-carbon fossil fuels. This article elaborates the implications of low-carbon energy transitions in the two countries, which can mitigate their serious contribution to climate change while allowing economic growth. Three modelling case studies are presented: for the Chinese power sector, the economy of Beijing and rural Indian households without access to electricity. They demonstrate a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, while costs are likely to increase. Financial assistance and technology transfer will be needed to support their efforts towards a climate-friendly low-carbon economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines social technology transfer by taking into account the role of cultural context – the interplay between geography, maritime trade, role of the state and foreign intercourse. The southern port city of Canton, China is the focus, and provides a case study to examine why Western merchants and missionaries came to this particular location to transfer various social technologies, i.e. hospitals, insane asylums, schools, colleges and homes for the blind. The relevance of these institutions to the development of China's social welfare is considered in terms of Canton's shifting welfare mix. Implications of this case study are considered relevant to critical understanding of international social welfare from an East–West perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although limited technology transfer among countries has occurred in the past 15 years or so, industrialised countries are unwilling to transfer their state-of-the-art technologies to less developed countries, for both political and economic reasons. As a result, China decided to speed research and development of its own high technologies and commercialise them by establishing in the late 1980s 52 High and New Technology Industry Development Zones. Through these zones achievements of scientific research could be transformed into competitive commodities and a new generation of entrepreneurs and competent managers could be bred. While China’s high technology development zones were modelled on the general concept of technopole, they are not exact duplicates of any of the three types of technopole that have been developed in the Western industrialised countries; they have distinct Chinese characteristics. This study also found that contrary to the popular belief, the high technology zones in coastal provinces as a whole do not perform much better than those in interior provinces. Instead, the majority of the zones that are located in provincial capital cities exhibited above-average performance. This suggests that capital cities in interior provinces can compete well with coastal cities in development of high-tech industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]