Title: Innovation in China's high-tech industries: barriers and their impact on innovation performance

Authors: Xueli Huang; Renyong Chi

Addresses: School of Management, RMIT University, 445 Swanston Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia ' School of Business Administration, Zhejiang University of Technology, 288 Liuhe Road, Hangzhou City, 30023, China

Abstract: China's high-tech industry has been regarded as a new driving force for national economic growth and industry restructuring over the next decade. Innovation is the most important activity in the high-tech industry. One critical area for improving innovation is to identify and overcome its barriers. This article reports on the perceptions of managers from a survey completed by 1,722 of China's high-tech enterprises on external and internal barriers to innovation in Zhejiang Province of China and how these barriers impact on the firms' innovation performance. Based on our findings, we have conceptualised innovation barriers into two groups: kinetic and static barriers. The implications from these findings for public policy and innovation management are discussed and remedies proposed.

Keywords: innovation barriers; high technology; high-tech industry; China; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; innovation policy; innovation performance; public policy; innovation management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2013.053044

International Journal of Technology Management, 2013 Vol.62 No.1, pp.35 - 55

Accepted: 01 Nov 2012
Published online: 30 May 2013 *

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