The tamest of tigers? Understanding Hong Kong’s innovation system and innovation policies

International Journal of Technology and Globalisation

Volumn 1, Issue 3-4, 2005, Pages 462-479

  Sharif, Naubahar ^a   Baark, Erik ^a  

^a HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY   (Hong Kong)

Author keywords

East Asia; Hong Kong; innovation policy; innovation system; newly industrialising Tiger economies

Indexed keywords

EID: 33749268377     PISSN: 14765667     EISSN: 17418194     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1504/ijtg.2005.008753     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Baark, E. and Sharif, N. (2006) ‘Hong Kong’s innovation system in transition’, in Lundvall, B-Â., Intarakumnerd, P. and Vang, J. (Eds.): Asian Innovation Systems in Transition, Palgrave, New York, forthcoming.
2. Berger, S. and Lester, R.K. (1997) Made by Hong Kong, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong.
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4. Chiu, S.W.K. and Wong, K-C. (1998) ‘The Hong Kong LCD industry: surviving the global technology race’, Industry and Innovation, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.51–71.
5. Chiu, S.W.K. and Wong, K-C. (2001) ‘Growth without catching up: organizational dynamics and restructuring of the electronics industry in Hong Kong’, Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies Occasional Paper Series No. 115, Hong Kong.
6. Chung, S.C. (2001) ‘The research development and innovation system in Korea’, in Larédo, P. and Mustar, P. (Ed.): Research and Innovation Policies in the New Global Economy, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
7. Clayton, D.V. (2000) ‘Industrialization and institutional change in Hong Kong’, in Latham, A.J.H. and Kawakatsu, H. (Ed.): Asia Pacific Dynamism, 1550–2000, Routledge, London, New York.
8. Enright, M.J., Edith, E.S. and Dodwell, D. (1997) The Hong Kong Advantage, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, New York.
9. HKSAR (1999) Commission on Innovation and Technology Second Report, Hong Kong.
10. HKSAR (2001) ‘Census and statistics department, science and technology statistics section’, Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics - July, Hong Kong SAR.
11. HKSAR (2003a) Census and Statistics Department, General Statistics Section (1) B, Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics 2003 Edition, Hong Kong SAR.
12. HKSAR (2003b) ‘Government funding of R&D, innovation and technology upgrading, 1995/96- 2001/02’, Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics - July, Hong Kong SAR.
13. HKSAR (2003c) ‘Patent statistics for Hong Kong, 1991–2002’, Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics - January, Hong Kong SAR.
14. HKSAR (2004a) ‘Research and development statistics of Hong Kong, 1998–2002’, Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics - May, Hong Kong SAR.
15. HKSAR (2004b) Innovation and Technology Commission, New Strategy of Innovation and Technology Development, Hong Kong.
16. Hou, C-M. and Gee, S. (1993) ‘National systems supporting technical advance in industry: the case of Taiwan’, in Nelson, R.R. (Ed.): National Innovation Systems: A Comparative Analysis, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
17. Kim, L. (1993) ‘National system of industrial innovation: dynamics of capability building in Korea’, in Nelson, R.R. (Ed.): National Innovation Systems: A Comparative Analysis, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
18. Lall, S. (1996) Learning from the Asian Tigers: Studies in Technology and Industrial Policy, St. Martin’s Press, New York.
19. Loo, B.P.Y. (2002) ‘The textile and clothing industries under the fifth Kondratieff wave: some insights from the case of Hong Kong’, World Development, Vol. 30, No. 5, pp.847–872.
20. Mahmood, I.P. and Singh, J. (2003) ‘Technological dynamism in Asia’, Research Policy, Vol. 32, pp.1031–1054.
21. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1999) Managing National Innovation Systems, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris.
22. Tao, Z. and Wong, Y.C.R. (2002) ‘Hong Kong: from an industrialized city to a center of manufacturing-related services’, Hong Kong University, HKIEBS Working Papers, Hong Kong.
23. Thompson, E.R. (2003) ‘Technology transfer to China by Hong Kong’s cross-border garment firms’, The Developing Economies XLI-1, March, pp.88–111.
24. Wong, P-K. (1996) National Systems of Innovation: The Case of Singapore, Science and Technology Policy Institute, Seoul.
25. Wong, P-K. (2003) ‘From using to creating technology: the evolution of Singapore’s national innovation system and the changing role of public policy’, in Lall, S. and Urata, S.u. (Ed.): Competitiveness, FDI and Technological Activity in East Asia, E. Elgar Pub., Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, MA, USA, pp.191–238.
26. Wong, S-l. (1988) Emigrant Entrepreneurs: Shanghai Industrialists in Hong Kong, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, New York.
27. The terms ‘innovation system’ and ‘systems of innovation’ are used interchangeably in this paper and refer to identical phenomena without distinction.
28. Although Hong Kong is, from a geographical and political point of view, unequivocally part of China (as a Special Administrative Region or SAR), economically and constitutionally it is sufficiently distinct (from the People’s Republic of China) to be considered, from a conceptual standpoint, a ‘national’ innovation system solely for analytical purposes (one country, two systems). Therefore, any and all references to ‘Hong Kong’, ‘Hong Kong SAR’, ‘HK’, or ‘HKSAR’ in this report denote, in full and without exception, ‘The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China’.
29. The patent system in Hong Kong was previously based on the Registration of Patents Ordinance. This was essentially a re-registration system based on a first registration taking effect in the UK. With the transfer of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to the PRC on 1st July, 1997, Hong Kong has localised its patent law and has introduced its own patent system. The Patents Ordinance came into force on 27th June 1997. The Ordinance provides for the establishment of an independent patents regime and the grading of standard patents and short-term patents.
30. Research output categories generally include: scholarly books and monographs; journal papers, book chapters and other published papers; conference and working papers; works of fiction, consulting reports, and case studies; reviews, translations, and other written outputs; editorships and high-level service external to the institution; and other creative work not listed above.
31. ASTRI’s current research foci are photonic technologies, integrated circuit design, Internet software, wireless communications and biotechnology.
32. Its largest target sectors are electronics, information technology and telecommunications, biotechnology, and precision engineering.
33. The ARF has HK$750 million in capital. In November 1988, two private-sector venture capital firms were appointed to manage the investment of the ARF.
34. An often-used diagram to represent a country’s innovation system is provided by the OECD (1999, p.23). In such a schematic, inputs into the innovation system are characterised as education, product markets, factor markets, and communication infrastructures. The outputs are represented by country performance (both R&D performance and overall performance) measured in terms of growth, job creation, and competitiveness.
35. Chiu and Wong (2001) claim that if formal R&D investments had been channeled to the electronics sector (an existing industry in which Hong Kong firms had inherent capabilities and skills), it is likely that the industry would have been able to maintain its global position of leadership more effectively.
36. Since such quotas will be phased out as part of WTO arrangements in 2005, it is expected that Hong Kong garment firms will increasingly need to upgrade their capabilities for design, branding, and networking.
37. For a study that discusses the low level of patenting in Hong Kong as compared with that in other East Asian tiger economies, see Mahmood and Singh (2003).
38. The region known as the Pearl River Delta Region (PRD) is found along the estuary of the Pearl River in Guangdong Province, comprising 50,000 sq. km., a population of roughly 40 million, with a GDP of US$100 million (excluding Hong Kong and Macau).
39. This section is from: HKSAR, Innovation and Technology Commission (2004).