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Indigenous digital technology standards for development: The case of China

Journal of International Business Policy volume 1, pages 234–252 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Research since the 1980s has considered the economic and innovation impacts of technology standards policies. This paper extends the research on the impact of standardization policies to consider how the policies themselves, as they govern how the standards are created, determine standards’ impact on emerging economies’ economic performance and innovation capabilities. Using four cases of digital technology standardization in China, this paper finds that combinations of government financial and market support and openness to domestic and foreign contributors determines how and when digital standardization begets positive technological and economic impacts for firms. This paper contributes to our understanding of international technology upgrading in emerging economies, as well as suggesting policies for successful economic upgrading in large emerging economies.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the generous support of the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0964907, and the University of South Carolina Center for International Business, Education and Research.

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  1. Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, 1014 Greene St, Columbia, SC, 29201, USA

    Michael Murphree

  2. Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Dan Breznitz

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  1. Michael Murphree
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Correspondence to Michael Murphree.

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Accepted by Suma Athreye, Area Editor, 23 August 2018. This article has been with the authors for two revisions.

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Murphree, M., Breznitz, D. Indigenous digital technology standards for development: The case of China. J Int Bus Policy 1, 234–252 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-018-0010-3

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