R&D Behaviour in Chinese Firms

To cope with the rising labour cost and protect the country’s deteriorating environmental conditions, Chinese policy makers have recently made a series of policy changes to promote innovation and hence the development of a knowledge-based economy in the country in the coming decades. As a result, China’s R&D spending has expanded substantially. This paper contributes to the understanding of R&D behaviour in China’s large and medium-sized firms and hence the role of Chinese firms in innovation. The latter has important implications not only for the transformation of the Chinese economy but also for the rest of the world as Chinese firms become increasingly active internationally.