Technological and institutional innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises in Western China

China has experienced unprecendented economic growth over the past two decades, with a rapid expansion of town and village enterprises (TVEs) and more recently of private enterprises. However, growth is uneven, with the Western Regions lagging behind the coastal ones, in particular with respect to growth in TVEs and private enterprises.

This project studies innovation processes in small and medium sized enterprises in China's Western Regions, in order to gain a better understanding of factors that may explain this uneven development. We will concentrate on how business networks and relations between enterprises, government, and research/learning institutions work in order to create bottlenecks or openings for innovation.

Qualitative methodology will be used to study the business milieus in and around Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province and Xining, the capital of Qinghai province. The first round of fieldwork took place in 2004/2005, and a second round of fieldwork will take place in 2005/2006.

Capacity strengthening includes training in qualitative field methods and introduction to the various types of research institution that deal with studies and facilitating of innovation in enterprises.

This is a cooperation project between the National Research Institute for Science and Technology for Development (NRCSTD) and Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies, financed by the Norwegian Agency for Development (www.norad.no) under project number CHN-2086.

Professor Wang Yuan (in front) has brought his colleges Zhao Yandong, He Guangxi, Ma Yin and Wang Fenyu to Norway to, among other things, learn how companies can co-operate about innovation and technological development from Fafo's Pål Sletten and David Drury.

Photo: Arnfinn Mauren, Aftenposten

Fafo researchers:
Pål Sletten
David Drury
Jon Hanssen-Bauer

NRCSTD researchers:
Mr. Wang Yuan
Mr. Wang Fenyu
Mr. Zhao Yandong
Mr. He Guangxi
Miss Ma Ying

In focus:

Lærer kineserne å tjene penger. Newspaper article about the field trip to the Møre region in Norway (in Norwegian), Aftenposten 29 Nov 2005

Fafo mini-seminar 25 Nov 2005 about China's new plan for technology and science