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| Catch-up and Dynamic Mechanism of Enterprise Complex Core Technologies:A Longitudinal Case Study on Huawei Wireless Network Technology |
| Zhang Yi,Yan Qiang |
| (School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876, China) |
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Abstract As China's industrial upgrading and technological innovation gradually enter the plateau, the key technologies that different industries rely on are more complex and interdependent. For example, the long-term investment in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, high-precision machine tools, high-tech materials and other technologies still lags far behind the world's advanced level, seriously constraining the security and sustainable development of the economy. How to realize the catch-up of complex core technologies has become an urgent problem for China's economy. However, the current research on complex core technologies lacks in-depth research on the relationship and coupling between technological complexity and core, and the mechanism between market dynamics and complex core technology innovation and latecomer catch-up. Thus,it is difficult to explain the large-scale core technology breakthrough and catch-up.#br#Following on technology portfolio innovation theory, this paper establishes a five-stage model of complex core technology innovation, sorts out complex core technologies from two aspects of complexity and core, and analyzes the innovation of complex core technologies, the main dilemma and dynamic mechanism of late catch-up in the longitudinal case study of the late development and catch-up process of Huawei wireless network technology(1994-2020). The main data comes from interviews with Huawei's R&D management personnel, group discussions, the author's on-site observation, interviews with the CEO and the head of wireless products and the minutes of speeches, the company's R&D work ethnography prepared by former employees, the company's public data and relevant academic documents, and other secondary materials. A comprehensive database of the case enterprise is established, and various materials are independently verified to improve the reliability and validity of the study. In the process of data analysis, the interview content and data collection are constantly supplemented according to the construction and theoretical construction until the theory is saturated.#br#According to the technology complexity and the formation of core technologies, the innovation process is divided into five stages: product prototype, market access, marginal market, core technology and core market, and they respectively realize the prototype innovation, complexity breakthrough, continuous improvement and innovation, core breakthrough and comprehensive market catch-up of complex product theory and technologies. The complexity and core of technologies come from the combination of innovation in technologies and the demands of the market. The technology complexity provides the overall advantages and economic power for the core, and the core of technology further enhances the technology complexity. The high market conversion cost of complex core technologies leads to the great dilemma of late comers and the path dependence of early comers, which requires late comers to make long-term and large-scale R&D investment to deal with the complexity and core of technologies respectively.#br#The theoretical contributions of this study mainly include the following aspects. Drawing on the theory of technology portfolio innovation, this paper proposes a five-stage innovation model of complex core technology through the analysis of technology evolution process, and further explains the reasons and driving mechanism of large-scale investment, high market conversion costs and ultra-long profit cycle in the context of complex core technology innovation and latecomer catch-up. Moreover,it analyzes the impact mechanism of the market on the complexity and core of technologies in different stages, the main difficulties of latecomer enterprises in the catching-up stage, and the technology and market dynamics of scale innovation, and it improves the dynamic mechanism of latecomer and catch-up of complex core technologies. Combined with further elaboration of the internal mechanism of the scale index growth of technology portfolio innovation and the multi-level network structure of complex core technologies, and the relationship and evolution between the complexity and core of technologies and market conversion costs from the five stages of complex core technology innovation, this paper deepens and expands the technology portfolio innovation theory in the context of complex core technologies. The research conclusions have practical implications for China's high-level technological innovation and comprehensive economic upgrading and transformation.#br#
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Received: 27 October 2022
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