IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bwp/bwppap/ctg-2013-23.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Innovation and upgrading in global production networks

Author

Listed:
  • Dev Nathan
  • Sandip Sarkar

Abstract

This paper deals with the role of innovation in upgrading within global production networks (GPNs). Because of the distribution of production segments across firms and countries, there is also a distribution of production knowledge. The paper looks at some ways of upgrading by developing economy firms – the roles of distributed knowledge, reverse innovation and new types of innovation, based on frugal engineering in emerging economies. Process changes could also be innovation, though, unlike product innovations, they are easily copied and spread. The paper points out the limits of current reverse innovation and also asks whether the separation of manufacturing from design has increased the speed of innovation. Before concluding, the paper looks at innovation in terms of the ‘adjacent possible’ in evolutionary analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Dev Nathan & Sandip Sarkar, 2013. "Innovation and upgrading in global production networks," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2013-23, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:ctg-2013-23
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.capturingthegains.org/pdf/ctg-wp-2013-23.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dieter Ernst, 2002. "Global production networks and the changing geography of innovation systems. Implications for developing countries," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(6), pages 497-523.
    2. Altenburg, Tilman & Schmitz, Hubert & Stamm, Andreas, 2008. "Breakthrough China's and India's Transition from Production to Innovation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 325-344, February.
    3. Bell, Martin & Albu, Michael, 1999. "Knowledge Systems and Technological Dynamism in Industrial Clusters in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(9), pages 1715-1734, September.
    4. E. Paul Durrenberger, 2012. "Labour," Chapters, in: James G. Carrier (ed.), A Handbook of Economic Anthropology, Second Edition, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Cantwell, John, 1995. "The Globalisation of Technology: What Remains of the Product Cycle Model?," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 19(1), pages 155-174, February.
    6. Terutomo Ozawa, 2009. "The Rise of Asia," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13084.
    7. Suma Athreye & Andrew Godley, 2009. "Internationalization and technological leapfrogging in the pharmaceutical industry," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 18(2), pages 295-323, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lorenzo Cresti & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2023. "Weak sectors and weak ties? Labour dependence and asymmetric positioning in GVCs," LEM Papers Series 2023/10, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    2. Bhushan Praveen Jangam & Badri Narayan Rath, 2021. "Does global value chain participation enhance domestic value‐added in exports? Evidence from emerging market economies," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 1681-1694, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pietrobelli, Carlo & Rabellotti, Roberta, 2011. "Global Value Chains Meet Innovation Systems: Are There Learning Opportunities for Developing Countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1261-1269, July.
    2. Pietrobelli, Carlo & Rabellotti, Roberta, 2011. "Global Value Chains Meet Innovation Systems: Are There Learning Opportunities for Developing Countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1261-1269, July.
    3. Wang, Yuandi & Zhou, Zhao, 2013. "The dual role of local sites in assisting firms with developing technological capabilities: Evidence from China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 63-76.
    4. Rasmus Lema & Roberta Rabellotti & Padmashree Gehl Sampath, 2018. "Innovation Trajectories in Developing Countries: Co-evolution of Global Value Chains and Innovation Systems," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 345-363, July.
    5. Jorge Nogueira de Paiva Britto & Leonardo Costa Ribeiro & Eduardo da Motta e Albuquerque, 2021. "Global systems of innovation: introductory notes on a new layer and a new hierarchy in innovation systems," Innovation and Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2-3), pages 259-279, September.
    6. Martina Fromhold-Eisebith, 2002. "Regional Cycles of Learning: Foreign Multinationals as Agents of Technological Upgrading in Less Developed Countries," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(12), pages 2155-2173, December.
    7. Castellani, Davide & Pieri, Fabio, 2013. "R&D offshoring and the productivity growth of European regions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 1581-1594.
    8. Tiwari, Rajnish & Herstatt, Cornelius, 2011. "Role of "Lead Market" factors in globalization of innovation: Emerging evidence from India & its implications," Working Papers 64, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Technology and Innovation Management.
    9. Rasmus Lema & Carlo Pietrobelli & Roberta Rabellotti, 2019. "Innovation in global value chains," Chapters, in: Stefano Ponte & Gary Gereffi & Gale Raj-Reichert (ed.), Handbook on Global Value Chains, chapter 23, pages 370-384, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Tiwari, Rajnish & Herstatt, Cornelius, 2011. "Lead market factors for global innovation: Emerging evidence from India," Working Papers 61, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Technology and Innovation Management.
    11. Simona Iammarino & Philip McCann, 2010. "The Relationship between Multinational Firms and Innovative Clusters," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Cho, Seho & Cantwell., John, 2024. "Knowledge sourcing and national technological development: The weak internationalization of R&D in South Korea," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    13. Basant, Rakesh, 2002. "Knowledge Flows and IndustrialClusters: An Analytical Review of Literature," IIMA Working Papers WP2002-02-01, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    14. Leonardo Costa Ribeiro & Glenda Kruss & Gustavo Britto & Ricardo Machado Ruiz & Américo Tristão Bernardes & Eduardo da Motta e Albuquerque, 2012. "Unveiling Global Innovation Networks," Textos para Discussão Cedeplar-UFMG 463, Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
    15. Silvia Massini & Marcela Miozzo, 2010. "Outsourcing and Offshoring of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services: Implication for Innovation," Chapters, in: Faïz Gallouj & Faridah Djellal (ed.), The Handbook of Innovation and Services, chapter 20, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Cristina Chaminade & Claudia De Fuentes & Gouya Harirchi & Monica Plechero, 2016. "The geography and structure of global innovation networks: global scope and regional embeddedness," Chapters, in: Richard Shearmu & Christophe Carrincazeaux & David Doloreux (ed.), Handbook on the Geographies of Innovation, chapter 22, pages 370-381, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Athreye, Suma & Cantwell, John, 2007. "Creating competition?: Globalisation and the emergence of new technology producers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 209-226, March.
    18. Altenburg, Tilman & Schmitz, Hubert & Stamm, Andreas, 2008. "Breakthrough China's and India's Transition from Production to Innovation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 325-344, February.
    19. Chen, Liang-Chih, 2009. "Learning through informal local and global linkages: The case of Taiwan's machine tool industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 527-535, April.
    20. Hansen, Ulrich Elmer & Lema, Rasmus, 2019. "The co-evolution of learning mechanisms and technological capabilities: Lessons from energy technologies in emerging economies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 241-257.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:ctg-2013-23. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Rowena Harding (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wpmanuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.