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Exporting and innovating among emerging market firms: The moderating role of institutional development

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Abstract

Building on the recombinatory view of innovation and an institutional perspective, this study investigated how the level of institutional development in a firm’s home region and the institutional distance between the home and export markets might influence the effectiveness of learning through exporting. For exporters in emerging economies, more support for R&D and better-developed market intermediaries at home were found to enhance the positive effect of exporting on firms’ innovation, while market openness in the home region tends to dampen it. Exporters exporting more to other emerging economies tend to be more innovative than those exporting more to advanced markets. These findings arise from an empirical study of exporting and innovation among Chinese manufacturers.

Résumé

En s’appuyant sur la vision recombinatoire de l’innovation et une perspective institutionnelle, cette recherche étudie comment le niveau de développement institutionnel dans la région d’origine d’une entreprise et la distance institutionnelle entre le marché domestique et les marchés d’exportation peuvent influer sur l’efficacité de l’apprentissage par l’exportation. Pour les exportateurs des économies émergentes, plus de soutien à la R&D et des intermédiaires de marché mieux développés dans le pays d’origine ont permis d’améliorer l’effet positif de l’exportation sur l’innovation des entreprises, alors que l’ouverture du marché dans la région d’origine tend à l’atténuer. Les exportateurs qui vendent davantage dans d’autres économies émergentes ont tendance à être plus innovants que ceux qui vendent davantage dans des économies développées. Ces résultats découlent d’une étude empirique sur l’exportation et l’innovation de fabricants chinois.

Resumen

Partiendo de la visión recombinatoria de la innovación desde una perspectiva institucional, este estudio investigó como el nivel de desarrollo institucional de la región de origen de la empresa y los mercados de exportación puede influenciar la efectividad del aprendizaje mediante la exportación. Para los exportadores en mercados emergentes, se encontró que mayor apoyo de I+D e intermediarios de mercado mejor desarrollados en el lugar de origen mejoran el efecto positivo de las empresas exportadoras en la innovación, mientras que la apertura de mercado en la región de origen tiende a desanimarlo. Los exportadores exportando más a otras economías emergentes tienden a ser más innovadores que los que exportan a mercados más avanzados. Estos hallazgos surgen de un estudio empírico de la exportación y la innovación entre los fabricantes chinos.

Resumo

Com base na visão recombinatória da inovação e em uma perspectiva institucional, este estudo investigou como o nível de desenvolvimento institucional na região de origem de uma empresa e a distância institucional entre os mercados doméstico e de exportação podem influenciar a eficácia da aprendizagem através da exportação. Para exportadores em economias emergentes, verificou-se que o apoio à R & D e intermediários de mercado mais desenvolvidos no domicílio aumentaram o efeito positivo da exportação na inovação das empresas, enquanto a abertura do mercado na região de origem tende a atenuá-lo. Os exportadores que exportam mais para outras economias emergentes tendem a ser mais inovadores do que aqueles que exportam mais para mercados avançados. Esses achados resultam de um estudo empírico de exportação e inovação entre fabricantes chineses.

摘要

基于创新和制度视角的重组观,本研究调查了公司本土地区的制度发展水平以及本土市场和出口市场之间的制度距离如何可能影响通过出口来学习的效果。对于新兴经济体的出口商来说,国内更多的研发支持和更完善的市场中介发现可以提高出口对公司创新的积极影响,而本土地区的市场开放则倾向于抑制它。对其它新兴经济体有更多出口的出口商往往比对先进市场有更多出口的出口商更具创新性。这些发现源于对中国制造商的出口与创新的实证研究。

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Editor Jonathan Doh, Alain Verbeke, and three anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback during the review process. The article has benefited from helpful comments and discussions with many individuals, particularly Prithviraj Chattopadhyay, Jinyu He, Christopher Marquis, Naubahar Sharif, Bilian Ni Sullivan, Danyang Xie, and Haibin Yang. We would like to thank these individuals while retaining full responsibility for any errors or omissions. The research is supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71502091) and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (HKUST#16501814).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Zhenzhen Xie

  2. Department of Management, School of Business and Management, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR, Hong Kong

    Jiatao Li

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  1. Zhenzhen Xie
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Correspondence to Jiatao Li.

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Accepted by Jonathan Doh, Guest Editor, 15 August 2017. This article has been with the authors for three revisions.

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Xie, Z., Li, J. Exporting and innovating among emerging market firms: The moderating role of institutional development. J Int Bus Stud 49, 222–245 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-017-0118-4

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