Johann Peter Murmann Writings on China
Jiang, Hong; Murmann, Johann Peter Functional Knowledge versus Strategic Knowledge: What Type of Knowledge Matters Most for the Long-Term Performance of Startups Journal Article In: Management and Organization Review, 19 (3), pp. 417-461, 2023. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Jiang, Hong; Murmann, Johann Peter The Rise of China's Digital Economy: An Overview Journal Article In: Management and Organization Review, 18 (4), pp. 790–802, 2022. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: China, Innovation Murmann, Johann Peter; Guo, Bin; Huang, Can A Dynamic Perspective on Huawei Journal Article In: Management and Organization Review, 17 (5), pp. 1087-1100, 2021. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Change, Dynamic Capabilities, Huawei, Routines Hochstrasser, Annika; Murmann, Johann Peter China Innovation Capacity Growth Index 2015 and 2020 Journal Article In: Management and Organization Review, 17 (4), pp. 861-867, 2021. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Innovation, Innovation Index Murmann, Johann Peter; Zhu, Zhijing In: Strategy Science, 6 (4), pp. 265-445, 2021. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Coopetition, Evolutionary Theory, Tencent, WeChat Wu, Xiaobo; Murmann, Johann Peter; Huang, Can; Guo, Bin The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership Book Cambridge University Press, 2020. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Change, Dynamic Capabilities, Evolutionary Theory, Huawei, Routines Murmann, Johann Peter The Management Transformation of Huawei: An Overview Book Chapter In: Wu, Xiaobo; Murmann, Johann Peter; Huang, Can; Guo, Bin (Ed.): The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership, pp. 1–70, Cambridge University Press, 2020. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Change, Dynamic Capabilities, Evolutionary Theory, Huawei, Routines Zhang, Zihan; Murmann, Johann Peter Transforming Product Development at Huawei: The IPD Initiative Book Chapter In: Wu, Xiaobo; Murmann, Johann Peter; Huang, Can; Guo, Bin (Ed.): The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership, Chapter 3, pp. 110–135, Cambridge University Press, 2020. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Change, New Products, Routines Xu, Hongqi; Murmann, Johann Peter The Transformation of Huawei’s HR System Book Chapter In: Wu, Xiaobo; Murmann, Johann Peter; Huang, Can; Guo, Bin (Ed.): The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership, Chapter 6, pp. 209–243, Cambridge University Press, 2020. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Change, HR Systems, Huawei, Routines Li, Lanhua; Guo, Bin; Murmann, Johann Peter; Wu, Dong Huawei’s R&D Management Transformation Book Chapter In: Wu, Xiaobo; Murmann, Johann Peter; Huang, Can; Guo, Bin (Ed.): The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership, Chapter 8, pp. 292–346, Cambridge University Press, 2020. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Change, Dynamic Capabilities, Huawei, Innovation, R&D, Routines Murmann, Johann Peter; Huang, Can; Zhang, Haoyu Huawei’s Intellectual Property Management Transformation Book Chapter In: Wu, Xiaobo; Murmann, Johann Peter; Huang, Can; Guo, Bin (Ed.): The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership, Chapter 9, pp. 347–380, Cambridge University Press, 2020. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Change, Huawei, Innovation, IP, Patents Murmann, Johann Peter The Management Transformation of Huawei: Concluding Thoughts from a Comparative Perspective Book Chapter In: Wu, Xiaobo; Murmann, Johann Peter; Huang, Can; Guo, Bin (Ed.): The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership, Chapter 10, pp. 381–410, Cambridge University Press, 2020. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Dynamic Capabilities, Evolutionary Theory, Huawei, Private Enterprise, SOEs Perkins, Greg; Murmann, Johann Peter What Does the Success of Tesla Mean for the Future Dynamics in the Global Automobile Sector? Journal Article In: Management and Organization Review, 14 (3), pp. 471–480, 2018. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: autos, Innovation, Tesla Lewin, Arie Y.; Kenney, Martin; Murmann, Johann Peter (Ed.) China's Innovation Challenge: Overcoming the Middle-Income Trap Book Cambridge University Press, 2016. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Innovation Lewin, Arie Y.; Kenney, Martin; Murmann, Johann Peter China’s innovation challenge: An introduction Book Chapter In: Lewin, Arie Y.; Kenney, Martin; Murmann, Johann Peter (Ed.): China's Innovation Challenge: Overcoming the Middle-Income Trap, Chapter 10, pp. 1–31, Cambridge University Press, 2016. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Innovation Lewin, Arie Y.; Kenney, Martin; Murmann, Johann Peter China’s innovation challenge: Concluding reflections Book Chapter In: Lewin, Arie Y.; Kenney, Martin; Murmann, Johann PeterEditors (Ed.): China's Innovation Challenge: Overcoming the Middle-Income Trap, Chapter 16, pp. 418–425, Cambridge University Press, 2016. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Innovation, Innovation Index Murmann, Johann Peter China’s Path to Innovation by Xiaolan Fu Online 2015, visited: 28.07.2015. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Innovation Murmann, Johann Peter Reflections on Choosing the Appropriate Level of Abstraction in Social Science Research Journal Article In: Management and Organization Review, 10 (3), pp. 381–389, 2014. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Private Enterprise, SOEs, Unit of Analysis Jiang, Hong; Murmann, Johann Peter In: Industrial and Corporate Change, 21 (4), pp. 933-970, 2011, ISSN: 0960-6491. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: COEs, Corporate Forms, Dye Industry, Evolutionary Theory, Private Enterprise, Regional Advantage, SOEs2023
@article{jiang_murmann_2022,
title = {Functional Knowledge versus Strategic Knowledge: What Type of Knowledge Matters Most for the Long-Term Performance of Startups},
author = {Hong Jiang and Johann Peter Murmann},
doi = {10.1017/mor.2021.77},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-03-01},
urldate = {2023-03-01},
journal = {Management and Organization Review},
volume = {19},
number = {3},
pages = {417-461},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {Past studies have shown that the flow of knowledge from incumbent firms is associated with the creation of startups and their subsequent performance. While much research has focused on the mechanisms of how incumbent-to-startup knowledge transfer takes place, such as entrepreneurs pursuing opportunities that their previous employers do not want to pursue, we explore with detailed qualitative analysis of six private startups in the Chinese synthetic-dye industry what type of knowledge actually flows and what type is more important for the long-term success of startups. We discover eight types of knowledge that flow from incumbents to new firms during the foundation of startups. Abstracting these eight types of knowledge into two general categories of functional knowledge and strategic knowledge, we find the reception of strategic (not functional) knowledge shapes the long-term competitiveness of surviving startups. Receiving technical knowledge – one type of functional knowledge – during the founding period is necessary for startups’ short-term survival but insufficient for long-term success. Our findings show that the performance implications of initial knowledge flows from incumbents hinge on the type of knowledge, contributing to a more explicit explanation of how incumbent-to-startup knowledge flows affect entrepreneurial performance.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2022
@article{jiang_murmann_2022b,
title = {The Rise of China's Digital Economy: An Overview},
author = {Hong Jiang and Johann Peter Murmann},
url = {https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZdrWSVZ00bHtvQxTW7YQQalH06dKJXL3Loy},
doi = {10.1017/mor.2022.32},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Management and Organization Review},
volume = {18},
number = {4},
pages = {790–802},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {To stimulate a debate about the rise of China's digital economy, this essay compares China and the US in one key area of the digital economy – e-commerce and internet-based services. China still lags behind the US in internet penetration, but it distinguishes itself by building a mobile-first, fiber-intensive, and inclusive digital infrastructure. A favorable infrastructure, innovations tailored to the large Chinese market, and local firms’ rapid commercialization of products and services turned the world's largest domestic population into active online consumers, helping China overtake the US by a large margin in retail e-commerce and digital payment. While China translated digital technologies into leading business-to-customer and customer-to-customer businesses, it has not been so successful in business-to-business services. The US is still ahead in the general-purpose technologies underlying the digital economy.},
keywords = {China, Innovation},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2021
@article{murmann_guo_huang_2021,
title = {A Dynamic Perspective on Huawei},
author = {Johann Peter Murmann and Bin Guo and Can Huang},
doi = {10.1017/mor.2021.31},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
urldate = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Management and Organization Review},
volume = {17},
number = {5},
pages = {1087-1100},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {Huawei is one of China’s most prominent multinational corporations (MNCs). As Huawei has been caught in the middle of a geopolitical struggle between China and the USA, Huawei received disproportionate attention in the Western press since 2018 when the US government stepped up its efforts to persuade other Western countries to ban Huawei’s 5G technology from their telecommunication infrastructures. We have been researching the development of Huawei into an MNC for several years, analyzing how Huawei managed to grow from 50 employees in 1987 to over 194,000 employees today (Huawei 2019). Our findings recently came out in a book entitled “The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership” (Wu et al. 2020). Like Yan, Hu and Dong (2021), we have been impressed by Huawei’s ability to transform itself. In our commentary, we will first consider Yan, Hu and Dong’s (2021) paper “The Transformation of Huawei Mobile: Managing Complementary Assets to Build Cross-Functional Ambidexterity” and then Hong and Snell’s (2021) paper “Headquarters Control and its Legitimation in a Chinese Multinational Corporation: The Case of Huawei.” Because the papers have such a different focus it makes sense to treat them individually and conclude with reflections that apply to both. },
keywords = {Change, Dynamic Capabilities, Huawei, Routines},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
@article{hochstrasser_murmann_2021,
title = {China Innovation Capacity Growth Index 2015 and 2020},
author = {Annika Hochstrasser and Johann Peter Murmann},
doi = {10.1017/mor.2021.59},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
urldate = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Management and Organization Review},
volume = {17},
number = {4},
pages = {861-867},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {It is of interest in China and across the world to predict whether China will catch up with the most economically advanced nations in innovation capacity. To facilitate an ongoing assessment of China's innovation capacity, the article develops a China Innovation Capacity Growth Index composed of eight separate measures. China's performance in 2020 is compared to the baseline from 2015, showing that China has progressed in six of the eight measures. This article and the accompanying Technical Appendix explain each of the measures, including the sources for the data, and report the changes in performance over time.},
keywords = {Innovation, Innovation Index},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
@article{murmann_zhi,
title = {What Enables a Chinese Firm to Create New-to-the-World Innovations? A Historical Case Study of Intrafirm Coopetition in the Instant Messaging Service Sector},
author = {Johann Peter Murmann and Zhijing Zhu},
doi = {10.1287/stsc.2021.0142},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
urldate = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Strategy Science},
volume = {6},
number = {4},
pages = {265-445},
abstract = {Chinese firms have been widely seen as imitative. This historical case study explores what organizational mechanisms allowed Tencent, a Chinese firm in the fast-changing instant messaging (IM) service sector, to achieve a new-to-the-world innovation with its WeChat smartphone app. Tracing the competitive dynamics in the Chinese IM sector from its inception, we found that Tencent was able to create the innovative WeChat product through a crisis-induced intrafirm coopetition dynamic that was embedded in variation-selection-retention evolutionary processes spanning the market, the firm, and the business unit levels. Building on the intrafirm coopetition and evolutionary literatures, the paper shows that three business units simultaneously competed and cooperated in developing alternative IM products while being exposed to market selection for survival. The coopetition dynamic took place in three key areas: technology, product promotion, and complementary assets of suppliers. The relative balance between competition and cooperation changed over time, and top management guidance and firm-level routines were essential in managing the challenges of coopetition within the firm.},
keywords = {Coopetition, Evolutionary Theory, Tencent, WeChat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2020
@book{wu_murmann_huang_guo_2020,
title = {The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership},
author = {Xiaobo Wu and Johann Peter Murmann and Can Huang and Bin Guo},
doi = {10.1017/9781108550987},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {Huawei has become China's most prominent multinational company and a leader in the ICT sector. Given unprecedented access to the company, the authors of this book examine the management transformation of Huawei from its inception in 1987 until 2019, observing in detail not only the creation of its organizational routines but also the breaking of routines across most major functional areas: Management, Product Development, HR, Supply Chain, Finance, R&D, Intellectual Property, and International Business. 'Dynamic capabilities' are central to theories of competitive advantage and this book highlights Huawei as an ideal case study for the successful implementation of change routines and change-supporting values. The chapters cover all the major change initiatives the firm has undertaken since 1996 to import best practices from the West, with the help of consultants. The insights presented in the book will be particularly interesting for academics in the field of strategy, management, and business history.},
keywords = {Change, Dynamic Capabilities, Evolutionary Theory, Huawei, Routines},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
@inbook{murmann_wu_murmann_huang_guo_2020,
title = {The Management Transformation of Huawei: An Overview},
author = {Johann Peter Murmann},
editor = {Xiaobo Wu and Johann Peter Murmann and Can Huang and Bin Guo},
doi = {10.1017/9781108550987.002},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership},
pages = {1–70},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {This introductory chapter offers an overview of the entire book on the management transformation of Huawei. Huawei is now China’s most prominent multinational company and a leader in 5G mobile telephone technology, which will be rolled out across the world in the next few years. What makes Huawei interesting is its rate of growth and the level of detail in which we can observe not only the creation of routines but also the breaking of routines across most the major functional areas (management, product development, HR, supply chain, finance, R&D, intellectual property, and international). This makes Huawei an ideal case to advance the theory of routines and dynamic capabilities to change routines. Hence the book will particularly appeal to academics in the field of strategy, management, and business history.},
keywords = {Change, Dynamic Capabilities, Evolutionary Theory, Huawei, Routines},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
@inbook{zhang_murmann_wu_murmann_huang_guo_2020,
title = {Transforming Product Development at Huawei: The IPD Initiative},
author = {Zihan Zhang and Johann Peter Murmann},
editor = {Xiaobo Wu and Johann Peter Murmann and Can Huang and Bin Guo},
doi = {10.1017/9781108550987.004},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership},
pages = {110–135},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
chapter = {3},
abstract = {Most companies discover that management practices that work on a smaller scale no longer work when the company grows substantially. This is also true for the product development process. As Huawei grew, the firm experienced problems in terms of higher product failure rates, longer development cycles and increased R&D costs. It then turned to the consulting services of IBM to upgrade its product development processes to a larger scale. The integrated product development (IPD) system implemented at Huawei was copied from IBM’s practices. IPD’s central idea is that companies must expand cross-functional teams to perform product development and use standard processes and templates to guide those development activities. IBM promoted the IPD system by providing consulting services to other firms. However, most of them failed during implementation, and only a few of them actually benefited from the IPD system; Huawei was one of them. The IPD transformation completely changed Huawei’s product developing system and helped the company overcome its problems in developing products on a larger scale. The IPD transformation was a turning point for Huawei in becoming a world-class company. This chapter explains how the IPD system helped Huawei solve its management problems and why Huawei was successful in IPD transformation when many other companies were not.},
keywords = {Change, New Products, Routines},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
@inbook{xu_murmann_wu_murmann_huang_guo_2020,
title = {The Transformation of Huawei’s HR System},
author = {Hongqi Xu and Johann Peter Murmann },
editor = {Xiaobo Wu and Johann Peter Murmann and Can Huang and Bin Guo},
doi = {10.1017/9781108550987.007},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership},
pages = {209–243},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
chapter = {6},
abstract = {To facilitate its rapid growth over the past thirty years and build an increasingly capable management team and workforce, Huawei made substantial changes to its HR practices. As the number of employees increased, the firm faced different challenges in recruiting, developing, and motivating employees while broadening its geographic focus from China to all corners of the globe. To accurately describe the changes Huawei made to address these challenges, we divide the history of Huawei’s HR system into five distinct stages that we call (1) personnel management, (2) the beginning of human resource management, (3) strategic human resource management, (4) international human resource management, and (5)talent management. With the help of Western consulting firms, Huawei imported many Western HR practices and combined them with the Chinese tradition of cultivating a strong commitment to a large organization. Huawei also adapted Western ideas. For example, it required employees to pay for their own training costs at the company university.},
keywords = {Change, HR Systems, Huawei, Routines},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
@inbook{li_guo_murmann_wu_wu_murmann_huang_guo_2020,
title = {Huawei’s R&D Management Transformation},
author = {Lanhua Li and Bin Guo and Johann Peter Murmann and Dong Wu },
editor = { Xiaobo Wu and Johann Peter Murmann and Can Huang and Bin Guo},
doi = {10.1017/9781108550987.009},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership},
pages = {292–346},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
chapter = {8},
abstract = {Although Huawei started its business as a small agent in 1987, the firm began the independent development of telecommunications equipment in its fouth year of operation and then gradually increased its R&D investments over the years. As the scale of R&D efforts increased, Huawei encountered significant problems with its organization of R&D and felt that it was necessary to transform how it conducts R&D several times over its thirty-year history. In this chapter, we develop a four-step model to analyze three major R&D management transformations in Huawei’s long history of R&D activities. The first transformation, from 1991 to 1995, helped Huawei to establish an informal R&D system; the second transformation, from 1995 to 1998, changed the informal R&D management system into a formal system with clear structures and processes; and finally, the third transformation built up a process-oriented, high-performing R&D organization. We find that although the transformations shifted Huawei’s focus from making structural changes to process changes, all of them were closely aligned with the firm’s market position and with its strategic re-orientation.},
keywords = {Change, Dynamic Capabilities, Huawei, Innovation, R&D, Routines},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
@inbook{murmann_huang_zhang_wu_murmann_huang_guo_2020,
title = {Huawei’s Intellectual Property Management Transformation},
author = {Johann Peter Murmann and Can Huang and Haoyu Zhang },
editor = {Xiaobo Wu and Johann Peter Murmann and Can Huang and Bin Guo},
doi = {10.1017/9781108550987.010},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership},
pages = {347–380},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
chapter = {9},
abstract = {Huawei by 2014 had become the largest patent filer in the world even though it did not file any patents for the first eight years of its existence (1987–1994). This chapter examines the development of the firm’s intellectual property (IP) management capability. It describes important changes that Huawei undertook both in terms of its IP strategy (whether, when, where, and in what technical areas to patent) and the administration of its IP activities. Unlike the other major transformations that Huawei undertook with the help of Western consulting firms, Huawei could not make up its mind about how it was going to manage its IP strategy until a lawsuit filed in 2003 by a US competitor, Cisco, prompted top management to devote significant attention to this area. To support its internationalization strategy, Huawei subsequently implemented a systematic strategy to create a vast collection of independent intellectual property in telecommunication technology. Starting in 2003, Huawei embarked on a series of five-year plans, first to increase the amount of IP that would be generated by its large R&D efforts and later to increase the quality of its IP. To realize this strategy, large changes in the organization of the IP office had to be made. Huawei now employs over 400 full-time IP professionals to implement its IP strategies. Huawei offers lessons for other companies from emerging economies who want to compete successfully on the world market.},
keywords = {Change, Huawei, Innovation, IP, Patents},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
@inbook{murmann_wu_murmann_huang_guo_2020b,
title = {The Management Transformation of Huawei: Concluding Thoughts from a Comparative Perspective},
author = {Johann Peter Murmann },
editor = {Xiaobo Wu and Johann Peter Murmann and Can Huang and Bin Guo},
doi = {10.1017/9781108550987.011},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {The Management Transformation of Huawei: From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership},
pages = {381–410},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
chapter = {10},
abstract = {This chapter offers concluding thoughts on the entire Huawei study – the totality chapters and commentaries. It offers comparative perspective by placing the firm in the larger context of corporations in China and to some extent in other countries. The comparison with many other firms throughout the entire book reveals that Huawei is among a select number of firms that are able grow at very high rates by continuously transforming themselves. Consistently investing at least 10 percent of sales starting on R&D at least since 1998 was an important ingredient of this growth. But the importation of western best practice routines and the steering of this process by the Huawei founder and the top management team underlie this ability to grow. Huawei stands out among many Chinese companies that internationalize by relying solely on organic growth rather than on growth through acquisitions. Huawei is also different from state-owned companies (SOEs) that dominate a number of sectors in the Chinese economy in that Huawei motivated a large fraction of employees by giving them shares in a profit-sharing plan so that hard working employees could make a substantial amount of money. Building all chapters, we provide advance management theory by articulating in detail the meta-routines that underpin Huawei’s dynamic capabilities. Finally, we discuss the challenges to future growth of the firm, including geopolitical cross-currents the firm currently finds itself in.},
keywords = {Dynamic Capabilities, Evolutionary Theory, Huawei, Private Enterprise, SOEs},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
2018
@article{perkins_murmann_2018,
title = {What Does the Success of Tesla Mean for the Future Dynamics in the Global Automobile Sector?},
author = {Greg Perkins and Johann Peter Murmann},
doi = {10.1017/mor.2018.31},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
urldate = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Management and Organization Review},
volume = {14},
number = {3},
pages = {471–480},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {After reading Jacobides, MacDuffie, and Tae (2016), the success of Tesla in launching a new automobile company in a crowded sector puzzled us. Jacobides, MacDuffie, and Tae (2016) had convinced us that developing the capabilities to become the manufacturer of a complete, safe automobile system would be quite difficult. Researching the development history of Tesla, we have pieced together the key features of how Tesla achieved its successful entry into the automobile sector. From this we have concluded, based on the development time and costs associated with the Tesla Model S, that a well-funded company could develop a new electric vehicle (EV) from scratch and move it into production within 3 to 5 years, by spending $1–2 billion of capital for design, development, and manufacturing. Without a doubt, increasing production to the levels of mass producers would take much longer, but the Telsa example demonstrates that new entry into the industy has become feasible. Tesla’s trajectory, from start-up on the brink of bankruptcy to a company mass producing electric vehicles within 5 years, raises important questions about the future of the global automobile sector. What would prevent Apple and Google, two companies that clearly have the resources to fund $2B in R&D, from entering the market and contesting fiercely with the dominant OEMs such as GM, Ford, VW, Mercedes, and Toyota? There are already many ventures in the Chinese electric automobile sector, such as BYD, Qiantu, NIO, and many more. Inspired by the success of Tesla, why would Chinese software and internet giants such as Tencent and Alibaba not enter this large market given that Tesla did not have prior experience and was able to get a successful car ready for sale within 5 years? In this perspective piece, we offer our reflections on the implications of the success of Tesla for the dynamics of the global automobile sector. We will appraise the chances that Chinese firms will for the first time become leading players in pushing the frontier of automotive technology, a goal that has eluded them over the past 30 years despite massive government efforts to create strong home-grown auto companies.},
keywords = {autos, Innovation, Tesla},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2016
@book{lewin_kenney_murmann_2016,
title = {China's Innovation Challenge: Overcoming the Middle-Income Trap},
editor = {Arie Y. Lewin and Martin Kenney and Johann Peter Murmann},
doi = {10.1017/CBO9781316422267},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
urldate = {2016-01-01},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {The miracle growth of the Chinese economy has decreased from a compound annual growth rate of 10% to less than 7% in 2015. The two engines of growth - export on a scale never before witnessed and massive infrastructure investments - are reaching the point of diminishing returns. This poses the central question which is explored in this book - can China escape the middle-income trap? Assuming current political arrangements remain unchanged and that it does not or cannot adopt Western sociopolitical economic regimes, can China develop an indigenous growth model centered on innovation? This compilation gathers leading Chinese and other international scholars to consider the daunting challenges and complexities of building an innovation-driven Chinese growth model. Providing several comprehensive perspectives, it examines key areas such as the institutional system, technology, sociocultural forces and national policy. The analyses and their conclusions range from strong optimism to deep pessimism about China's future.},
keywords = {Innovation},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
@inbook{lewin_kenney_murmann_2016b,
title = {China’s innovation challenge: An introduction},
author = {Arie Y. Lewin and Martin Kenney and Johann Peter Murmann},
editor = {Arie Y. Lewin and Martin Kenney and Johann Peter Murmann},
doi = {10.1017/CBO9781316422267.002},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
urldate = {2016-01-01},
booktitle = {China's Innovation Challenge: Overcoming the Middle-Income Trap},
pages = {1–31},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
chapter = {10},
abstract = {The current Chinese development model is nearing its limits. The World Bank has cautioned that China could find itself in a “middle-income trap”. China recognizes that it must dramatically increase its capacity for innovation to avoid this trap. This chapter provides an introduction to the enormous complexities and challenges that China faces in transforming the diverse resources available to it for creating an innovation-based economy. It describes how China has over the past four decades developed from being largely isolated and irrelevant to the world economy to becoming the world’s second-largest economy. The chapter lays out two diametrically opposed scenarios for the future development of the Chinese economy. The first, optimistic scenario argues that China can build ever-stronger innovation capability and become a high-income nation. The second, more pessimistic scenario makes the case that, without radical reforms, existing Chinese political and economic institutions will inexorably relegate China to the middle-income trap. The chapter also introduces 14 essays by leading international scholars that collectively discuss with frankness the opportunities and challenges China faces across the different aspects of its society. It does so this by sketching the role of institutions, history, politics, culture, and competition in shaping the attitudes and capacities of individuals, firms, and entire sectors to become more innovative. },
keywords = {Innovation},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
@inbook{lewin_kenney_murmann_2016c,
title = {China’s innovation challenge: Concluding reflections},
author = {Arie Y. Lewin and Martin Kenney and Johann Peter Murmann},
editor = {Arie Y. Lewin and Martin Kenney and Johann PeterEditors Murmann},
doi = {10.1017/CBO9781316422267.017},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
urldate = {2016-01-01},
booktitle = {China's Innovation Challenge: Overcoming the Middle-Income Trap},
pages = {418–425},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
chapter = {16},
abstract = {The chapter reflects on China’s dramatic economic achievements over the past four decades and the complex task that policy makers face in continuing China’s progress toward attaining a high-income economy. It argues that, even though no one can predict with any certainty today whether China will continue its growth path or fall into the middle-income trap, it will become increasingly clear in the years to come whether the optimistic or the pessimistic outlook on China’s ability to develop an innovative economy turns out to be correct. The best way to gauge Chinese progress is to track a few salient indicators and compile a “Chinese Innovation Capacity Growth Dashboard.” The proposed indicators include the effectiveness of its intellectual property system, its R&D resource allocation, and its exploitation of foreign R&D assets; the share of resources flowing to state-owned enterprises, of new-to-world innovations, and of papers in leading scientific journals; the ease of starting new firms; the level of financing for startups and small and medium-size enterprises; the autonomy of Chinese universities; and institutionalized trust.},
keywords = {Innovation, Innovation Index},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
2015
@online{nokey,
title = {China’s Path to Innovation by Xiaolan Fu},
author = {Johann Peter Murmann},
url = {http://www.economic-evolution.net/index.php/weblog/booksandreviewsfull/322},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-07-28},
urldate = {2015-07-28},
abstract = {China's economic development is one of the great stories of our time. Today (July 28, 2015) we are starting our special focus on China with a review new book on the development of China's innovative capacity. China's Path to Innovation written by the Oxford Professor Xiaolan Fu. Although a new trade press book seems to come out almost every week on China's innovative capacity, there are relatively few scholarly treatments on the subjects. For this reason, Xiaolan Fu’s book China's Path to Innovation (Cambridge University Press, 2015) is a welcome addition to the literature.
},
keywords = {Innovation},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
2014
@article{murmann_2014,
title = {Reflections on Choosing the Appropriate Level of Abstraction in Social Science Research},
author = {Johann Peter Murmann},
url = {http://professor-murmann.net/publications/Murmann-2014-Management_and_Organization_Review.pdf},
doi = {10.1017/S1740877600004319},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-01-01},
urldate = {2014-01-01},
journal = {Management and Organization Review},
volume = {10},
number = {3},
pages = {381–389},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {Although researchers often do it subconsciously, every explanation involves choosing a level of abstraction at which the argument proceeds. The dominant North American style of research in Organization Theory, Strategy, and International Business encourages researchers to frame their explanations at the highest level of abstraction where country-level contextual factors are suppressed or ignored. Yet to provide powerful explanations for recent developments in China, researchers are drawn to a greater level of context specificity. This tension is evident in the Child and Marinova (2014) paper. One way to reduce the tension is to identify general causal mechanisms that combine in different ways to produce different results depending on context. This research strategy is more effective than seeking invariant, general patterns of development across all times and places.},
keywords = {Private Enterprise, SOEs, Unit of Analysis},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2011
@article{10.1093/icc/dtr070,
title = {Regional institutions, ownership transformation, and migration of industrial leadership in China: the case of the Chinese synthetic dye industry, 1978–2008},
author = {Hong Jiang and Johann Peter Murmann},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtr070},
doi = {10.1093/icc/dtr070},
issn = {0960-6491},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-01-01},
urldate = {2011-01-01},
journal = {Industrial and Corporate Change},
volume = {21},
number = {4},
pages = {933-970},
abstract = {Scholars have emphasized the gradual ownership transformation of enterprises as a key driver of the Chinese economy's unprecedented growth. However, little work has been done on the issue of whether this transformation process takes place evenly across the various regions in China. This article describes the important role of regional institutions in shaping the ownership-based competitiveness of local enterprises and the migration of industries across regions. In the case of the Chinese synthetic dye industry, the passing of leadership from state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to collectively owned enterprises (COEs) and then to private enterprises (PEs) was accompanied by a concurrent leadership migration from one region to another. The article contends that this simultaneous occurrence was not accidental. Four institutional constraints—the degree of central supervision, the local labor arrangements, the local social welfare provision, and the degree of ambiguity in property rights—retarded the rise of new ownership forms in the previously dominant regions. This gave other regions the opening to take over leadership positions by providing a more favorable institutional context for new ownership forms. These findings are likely to apply to all of the Chinese manufacturing industries that existed prior to 1978 and that subsequently did not experience significant technological changes and were not highly protected by the government.},
keywords = {COEs, Corporate Forms, Dye Industry, Evolutionary Theory, Private Enterprise, Regional Advantage, SOEs},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}