Author:

Keywords:

Upgrading, Knowledge Economy, China, Social Sciences, Economics, Management, Business & Economics, Upgrading mechanisms, knowledge bases, automotive industry, construction industry, GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS, REGIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS, VALUE CHAINS, TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, ORGANIZATION, GEOGRAPHY, CLUSTERS, DESIGN, FIRMS, 1503 Business and Management, Business & Management, 3503 Business systems in context, 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour

Abstract:

This paper deals with the question how upgrading of the symbolic and synthetic knowledge bases takes place and, by doing so, we contribute to the upgrading literature by linking upgrading with the concept of the differentiated knowledge bases. We discern a number of upgrading mechanism, and based on empirical evidence from the construction industry and the automotive industry in China, we show that the main upgrading mechanisms for symbolic knowledge include ‘learning-by-interacting in project teams’ and ‘monitoring’, while upgrading of synthetic knowledge takes place via ‘technology transfer’, and ‘learning-by-doing, -using and interacting’. ‘Mobility’ and ‘on-the-job training and learning in Transnational Corporations’ are the main upgrading mechanisms contributing to the development of both knowledge bases.