Demanding business travel:the evolution of the timespaces of business practice

To date, virtual ways of working have yet to substantially reduce demand for business travel. Emerging research claims that virtual and physical work compliment rather than substitute for one another. This suggests travel demand stems from business strategies and achieving business outcomes. In building on these ideas, this chapter draws upon Schatzki’s conception of timespace to capture changes in how two UK-based global construction and engineering consulting firms organise work and the implications in terms of demand for business travel. Overtime, particular forms of spatially stretched organisation which have developed are found to require the interweaving of timespaces through travel. As such, how each firm has evolved has in turn created the contemporary situation of significant and hard to reduce demand for travel

The making of science and technology policy in China

This paper examines the conceptual changes and policy initiatives shaping China's science and technology (S&T) policy reforms. Using a taxonomy of four S&T policy cultures (bureaucratic. economic, academic, and civic), the paper explores the various tensions and compromises that have characterized the formulation and implementation of policies in the early 1980s. The process of policy making is then illustrated by reference to the reforms introduced during the last two decades in order to increase and diversify the funding of S&T activities in China

Market-based Climate Policy in China? The Case of Emissions Trading Systems

China recognises the need to reduce carbon emissions in order to avoid negative consequences from climate change in the future. Therefore, the Chinese government initiated seven emissions trading system (ETS) pilots in 2013 and began to develop China’s national ETS in 2017. However, Chinese efforts to implement ETS have encountered legal, institutional and political issues that must be solved so that a national ETS could help to mitigate emissions in China

Lightning Wires: The telegraph and China's Technological Modernization, 1860-1890

Baark examines the transfer of telegraph technology to China in the late nineteenth century. He shows how the initial Chinese rejection of the telegraph as an inconvenient technology contributed to violent conflicts between foreigners and the Chinese, but that this resistence gradually gave way to an assimilation of the telegraph into Chinese society. The transfer and assimilation of advanced technology has been an important challenge for China's modernization for more than a century. Baark examines some of the dilemmas faced by Chinese modernizers of the yangwu (Western affairs) movement from the 1860s to the 1890s. Telegraph technology emerged in the West on the basis of scientific discoveries in electricity in the early nineteenth century, and was greeted with enthusiasm by governments and the public alike. The Chinese attitudes to the telegraph, however, were informed by entirely different political and cultural priorities. Baark examines the tensions which existed between the Chinese and the foreign companies seeking to extend telegraph technology to East Asian cities, and he shows how the domestic network was shaped by indigenous social and cultural forces. This book will be of considerable interest to historians of modern China, technology, and economic development

Basic Research and National Goals: The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in an Emerging Innovation System

The mission of the National Center for Scientific Research set up in the 1970s included an ambition to address the core problem of responding to society’s needs. With reforms in the early 1990s, there was an attempt to reorient the activities of the renamed National Center for Natural Science and Technology in response to the Đổi mới policies of economic liberalization. The optimism of the scientists regarding the opportunities for external sources of income from research contracts and commercialization of technology through entrepreneurial ventures only materialized to a limited extent. During the 21st Century, the leadership of the scientific organization – now called the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology – and the Vietnamese Government have reiterated mission priorities for serving the society and establishing a key role in the innovation system. The recent five years have witnessed some improvement in this respect, however, with the consolidation of a legal framework and the establishment of new funding mechanisms for research and innovation. The lack of consistent orientation among scientists towards exploring and developing the utility of scientific research (i.e., Pasteur’s quadrant), and the absence of psychological and material incentives for linkages with potential users and markets also hampered commercialization; those who ventured into the marketplace with their services for products had little experience about scaling up of production, marketing, or other aspects of business

Service innovation in Hong Kong: Concepts, dynamics and policy

Hong Kong's economy has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past two decades, and the services sector now generates 85 per cent of GDP. Nevertheless, the sector needs to innovate in order for Hong Kong to maintain its position as an Asian service hub, and to maintain international competitiveness in the context of rapidly expanding services in the region. Innovation in services has important characteristics, such as the interaction between provider and customer, and the pervasive influence of ICT on innovation in processes, products and delivery. The management and promotion of innovation in the services sector thus require a re-orientation of conceptual frameworks, and a better understanding of the underlying dynamics of service innovation. The paper outlines key conceptual features, and discusses a few examples of service innovation in Hong Kong. Finally, it proposes some considerations for policy-making

The Political Economy of Hong Kong's Quest for High Technology Innovation

In the late 1990s, the nascent Special Administrative Region state put forward a new developmental strategy to turn Hong Kong into a global high tech city. Various programmes such as Cyberport, the Innovation Technology Fund, the Hong Kong Science & Technology Park, and the Applied Science and Technology Research Institute were launched. This article examines the conditions that led to the formulation of the Cyberport project and the way it has been implemented. It is argued that the project is deeply embedded in the political economy of the post-colonial Hong Kong state-society relationship. Furthermore, closer examination of the rhetoric and realities of the Cyberport project reveals deep-seated and fundamental flaws in the Hong Kong government's ability and willingness to pursue a strategy for promotion of high technology industries

Research advancement on intellectual property strategy: Implications for China under globalization

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review key academic literature on the characteristics of business firms' intellectual property (IP) strategy and to examine the implications for how Chinese firms can deal with today's business environment under the globalization. Design/methodology/approach: A selection of peer-reviewed articles from scholarly journals listed in major academic search engines is reviewed. The search results showed that ProQuest included 509 related articles and ScienceDirect included 121. The abstract of all the articles were reviewed. Finally, 26 articles were identified and comprehensively reviewed. The key characteristics of the role of internal and external contexts for IP strategy development were then analysed in terms of the challenges faced by Chinese firms. Findings: The results show that IP strategies involve IP identification/generation, valuation, utilization and enforcement. Its effectiveness depends on both internal (i.e. company size, ownership of firms, business strategies and the value of the IP) and external factors (i.e. industry structure, level of competition, and novelty of technology). Given that many Chinese firms are developing new innovative capabilities and need to protect their IP in domestic or international markets, there is a need for these firms to align their emerging IP strategy with future business strategies. Research limitations/implications: The study focuses on the IP strategies and management in business organizations, and therefore excludes the articles from law and economics literature. Originality/value: The paper suggests a conceptual framework and provides managerial implications on IP management at firm level, particularly relevant for Chinese business firms. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited