Pioneers, Hidden Champions, Changemakers, and Underdogs: Lessons from China's Innovators - Hardcover

Greeven, Mark J.; Yip, George S.; Wei, Wei

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0262039699 ISBN 13: 9780262039697

Publisher: The MIT Press, 2019

Synopsis

An insider's view of China's under-the-radar, globally competitive innovators.

Chinese innovators are making their mark globally. Not only do such giants as Alibaba and Huawei continue to thrive and grow through innovation, thousands of younger Chinese entrepreneurs are poised to enter the global marketplace. In this book, Mark Greeven, George Yip, and Wei Wei offer an insider's view of China's under-the-radar, globally competitive innovators.

The authors, all experts on Chinese innovation, distinguish four types of innovators in China: pioneers, large companies that are globally known; hidden champions, midsize enterprises that are market leaders in their niches; underdogs, technology-driven ventures with significant intellectual property; and changemakers, newer firms characterized by digital disruption, exponential growth, and cross-industry innovations. They investigate what kinds of innovations these companies develop (product, process, or business model), their competitive strategies, and key drivers of innovation. They identify six typical ways Chinese entrepreneurs innovate, including swarm innovation (collectively pursuing opportunities) and rapid centralized decision making. Finally, they look at how Chinese innovators are going global, whether building R&D networks internationally or exporting disruptive business models. The book includes many examples of Chinese innovators and innovations, drawn from a range of companies―from pioneers to changemakers―including Alibaba, Haier, Hikvision, Malong Technology, Weihua Solar, Mobike, and Cheetah Mobile.

Greeven, Yip, and Wei offer an essential guide to what makes China a heavyweight competitor in the global marketplace.

About this title

About the Author:

Mark J. Greeven is Professor of Innovation and Strategy at IMD Business School in Lausanne and coauthor of Business Ecosystems in China: Alibaba and Competing Baidu, Tencent, Xiaomi, and LeEco.

George S. Yip is Emeritus Professor of Marketing and Strategy at Imperial College Business School in London and coauthor of China's Next Strategic Advantage: From Imitation to Innovation (MIT Press). He divides his time among Boston, London, and Maine.

Wei Wei is Founder and CEO of the Shanghai-based consulting firm GSL Innovation.

Review:

The impetus for this important book is a fundamental, time-tested principle: If we understand one another better, we can grow stronger relationships and do more together for the benefit of all. This book introduces China's innovators to the world.

―Dinglong Huang, CEO and cofounder of Malong Technologies

A great book with most interesting insights into the dynamics of innovation in China, a country that is on the move toward becoming a leading innovation nation. An exceptional book to read to understand the rise of China's hidden innovators.

―Xiaolan Fu, Professor and Director of Technology and Management Centre for Development, University of Oxford

This book is an important reminder that China is becoming more and more innovative, and also identifies the hidden champions who are leading the way.  It is not the State-Owned Enterprises or the Communist Party that are driving China's future but its business leaders and entrepreneurs, working in companies that most of us haven't (yet) heard of.  This is essential reading for anyone who cares about innovation in our times.

―Henry Chesbrough, Adjunct Professor, University of California, Berkeley; author of Open Innovation

Innovation is one of the most important pillars of China's economic development. This book brilliantly depicts the specific landscape where China's social ecosystem allows for these innovations to flourish.

―Weiming Jiang, President, DSM China

About this edition

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0262039699
• ISBN 13: 9780262039697
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 216