ABSTRACT

Many prior studies have examined latecomer firms’ learning and upgrading; however, the context of upgrading changes significantly when they passed the initial catch-up stage and we know very little about how latecomer firms achieve continuous upgrading after they enter into beyond catch-up stage. This study employs a longitudinal case study to investigate how a latecomer firm pursued ambidextrous learning and achieved technological upgrading successfully in three different stages. We find that latecomer firms can achieve sustained technological upgrading through ambidextrous learning and that the specific learning mode in different stages can evolve with windows of opportunity and technological capabilities. These findings extend our understanding of how latecomer firms can upgrade to the innovation frontier and shed new insights into the ambidextrous learning literature. Implications for policy are discussed and directions for further research are outlined.

摘要

许多先前的研究考察了后来者公司的学习和升级。然而，当它们通过最初的赶超阶段时，升级的背景发生了显着变化，我们对后来者企业如何在进入超赶超阶段后实现持续升级知之甚少。本研究采用纵向案例研究，调查一家后来者企业如何在三个不同阶段成功地追求双元学习并成功实现技术升级。我们发现，后发企业可以通过双元学习实现持续的技术升级，不同阶段的具体学习模式可以随着机会之窗和技术能力而演变。这些发现扩展了我们对后来者企业如何升级到创新前沿的理解，并为灵巧的学习文献提供了新的见解。讨论了对政策的影响，并概述了进一步研究的方向。