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This work explores the dynamics of the 'virtuous circle' driving the impressive Chinese catching-up and growth by investigating the micro relationships linking productivity, profitability, investment and growth, based on China's manufacturing firm-level dataset over the period 1998-2007. Interestingly and somewhat puzzlingly, we find that productivity variations, rather than relative levels, are the prevalent productivity-related determinant of firm growth. Moreover, the direct relation between profitability and firm growth is much weaker and its contribution to the explanation of the different rates of firm growth is almost negligible. The only visible profitability-growth relationship is mediated via investment. Firm's contemporaneous and lagged profitabilities display positive and significant effect on the probability to report an investment spike, and, in turn, investment activities are related to higher firm growth.

While most studies have viewed strategic flexibility as a capability to cope with the environmental turbulence and promote the product innovation, few of them investigate the mediating mechanism in the relationship between the strategic flexibility and product innovation. According to the resource-based view, we regard the bricolage as a concrete activity of recombining the different resources in the product development process and explore the underlying mechanism. Our results reveal that strategic flexibility has a positive and significant effect on bricolage. The effect of strategic flexibility on product innovation is partially mediated by bricolage. Furthermore, environmental turbulence moderates the relationship between strategic flexibility and bricolage positively. We contribute to the strategic flexibility research by exploring the effect of strategic flexibility on the bricolage and product innovation form a mediating perspective and offering a more nuanced and in-depth understanding of the impact of strategic flexibility. This research also provides new evidence on the effect of strategic flexibility on product innovation in transition economies such as China, where strategic flexibility is essential for firms to adapt to an uncertain environment.

This paper combs the landscapes of China’s technological innovation practice during the 40 years of reform and opening up, and describes it as “Four-Stage Climbing” that is, “Learning–Introducing–Supplying Stage” (LIS Stage), “Introducing–Imitating–Improving Stage” (III Stage), “Integrating–Boosting–Creating Stage” (IBC Stage), and the “Innovating–Iterating–Promoting Stage” (IIP Stage). It also explains the background of each stage and its specific innovation model. Furthermore, the paper emphasizes the main features, basic experiences and main lessons of China’s technological innovation practice during the past 40 years. This paper demonstrates that with the deepening of innovation-driven development, especially in the field of “Innovation Leads Development” which is valued by the country and industry, at this stage, it is urgent to pay closer attention to the following issues: first of all, the possible changes in mechanisms of international innovation competition and cooperation under the background of potential reconstruction for international governance; secondly, the occurrence and realization mechanism of Leading Scientific and Technological Innovation in the era of science and technology, as well as the structural and institutional mechanisms of the national innovation ecosystem, and also the ecological niche in which the future scientific innovation subject and technological innovation subject should be in the national innovation ecosystem; furthermore, the mechanism of innovation and development for “science-based industries”; last but not the least, the logical construction of innovation and development research under the Chinese context.

In 2012, the Chinese government put forward the “Innovation-driven Development Strategy”, which has its theory origin as well as its practice and policy origin. At this stage, based on the reality of China’s economic development and the prominent role of “lead innovation” to economic development, China urgently needs to adjust the idea of “Innovation-driven Development” in the past to “Innovation-led Development” and should focus on encouraging and supporting “lead innovation” in order to achieve the purpose of the “steady growth and improve quality”.

Science empowers as a nation’s toughest weapon in the future global competition and cooperation. A large number of countries listed in-house R&D for science-based innovations as their core development strategy in the next decade. This paper conducts multi-case analysis on four science-based innovations in China as a reference for how a new science-based venture superseded in global market and developed indigenous capability to generate much business value as well as scientific value. The four cases detailed are container inspection system, hot redundant JX-100 DCS, high-performance Dawning supercomputers and Chinese-character laser phototypesetting system. We concluded that the successful commercialization of a nationwide and grand scientific project requires the following: (1) visionary scientists’ solid authority, direct participation, business acumen and a strong sense of patriotism, without intermediaries, are the core for successful science-based innovation and commercialization during knowledge transformation; and (2) the powerful and direct support from the policymakers. Forms of support may vary from financial incentives, policy enforcement and endorsement. The consequences for the success of science-based innovations are the creation of highly-skilled manpower, new market as well as shifting away from low-cost strategy to innovative strategy.

Science-based innovation emerged from novel and discontinuous innovations which provoked irreversible yet significant changes in science and technology. This research investigated the commercialization process of artemisinin, a typical science-based innovation in China. Due to her research involvement with artimisinin (qinghaosu), Tu Youyou received the 2011 Lasker Award in clinical medicine and the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura. In this paper, the authors reviewed the process of artemisinin’s innovation from labs in a research institute to its entrance into the market. Based on the research, we reached the following conclusions. First, during the process of science-based innovation, a “new technology platform” might be established and a series of applications might be invented. Second, the extensive cooperation among research institutions and companies played a vital role in the science-based innovation. Third, the science-based innovation emerged through multidisciplinary research teams as well as contacts among scientists with cross-fields expertise. Fourth, for science-based innovation, early research funding mainly relied on public funds. During the commercialization stage, corporate funding plays a major role. Fifth, a clear research objective, an overall planning, coordination, and the stability of policies were also important factors in the entire science-based innovation process.