Innovation and international technology transfer: The case of the Chinese photovoltaic industry

Abstract

CERNA WORKING PAPER SERIES 2010-12International audienceChina is the largest solar photovoltaic cell producer in the world, with more than one third of worldwide production in 2008, exporting more than 95 percent of what it produces. The purpose of this paper is to understand the drivers of this success and its limits, with a particular emphasis on the role of technology transfers and innovation. Our analysis combines a review of international patent data at a detailed technology level with field interviews of ten Chinese PV companies. We show that Chinese producers have acquired the technologies and skills necessary to produce PV products through two main channels: the purchasing of manufacturing equipment in a competitive international market and the recruitment of skilled executives from the Chinese diaspora who built pioneer PV firms. The success of these firms in their market is, however, not reflected in their performance in terms of innovation. Rather, patent data rather highlight a policy-driven effort to catch up in critical technological areas

Greening Global Value Chains: Innovation and the International Diffusion of Technologies and Knowledge

“…Local firms can indeed reverse-engineer imported products, or acquire knowledge through business relationships (e.g., as customer or distributor) with the source company. As an illustration, China has acquired production technologies to develop a highly performing solar photovoltaic industry by purchasing turnkey production lines to German, US and Japanese suppliers (de la Tour et al, 2011). They are now able to produce production equipment on their own.…”

Developing a novel approach for modeling the social effects of technology transfer

“…Information that is received in this regard can provide the opportunities to have access to new processes, techniques, and key competencies, which will contribute to innovations in production, marketing, management and accounting (De La Tour et al, 2011). Using new technologies, entities can overcome problems and compete with larger enterprises (Xiaolan, 2011).…”

The role of technology transfer for the development of a local wind component industry in Chile

“…Case study literature on TT is scarce and has mostly focused on the success stories of BRIC economies, 2 such as the emergence of leading wind turbine manufacturers in India and China (Lewis, 2007;Wang, 2010;Zhang et al, 2009); the world-leading Chinese photovoltaic technology (de la Tour et al, 2010); or Brazilian biofuels production (Hira and de Oliveira, 2009). However, these countries do not represent the average developing economy.…”