Zhu, Kan; (2024) The development of emerging Chinese innovation spaces and the role of the state. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Text Kan_10190446_thesis_id_removed.pdf Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 May 2029. Download (5MB)

Abstract

This thesis studies China’s innovation development along with its contemporary urban transformation. It aims to understand the governance of innovation-driven development in China. From a political-economic perspective, it builds a theoretical framework for governing innovation-driven development under state entrepreneurialism. Empirically, this research explores emerging Chinese innovation spaces with two case studies: Shanghai Zhangjiang Science City and Nanjing Jiangbei National New Area. Mainly through semi-structured interviews, this research uses quanlitative-based methods in an exploratory way. Rather than thinking of innovation governance as state-commanded, this thesis reveal they are marketbased operations. At the same time, they extend the state capacities into industrial governance. The thesis answers three research questions. First, it studies China’s ongoing innovation strategies and analyzes the national context for developing Chinese innovation spaces. These innovation spaces are guided by strengthened state strategies for innovation-driven development. Second, the implementation of Chinese innovation spaces is incorporated into urban development. Meanwhile, imperative challenges in China’s urban transformation have influenced the operation of these innovation spaces. State regulations concerning land development and high-tech zones have influenced their development models. Third, by focusing on the role of the state, this research investigates how urban governance facilitates China’s innovation-driven development and high-tech upgrading. The governance of Zhangjiang Science City demonstrates a strengthening of national innovation strategies for knowledge generation and key innovation. Such a rising state centrality is path-breaking for market-operating state actors. In Jiangbei National New Area, the governance demonstrates an institutional reform for Nanjing’s industrial restructuring coupling with a multinational lead firm. Entrepreneurial state actors are created to improve governance for facilitating the takeoff in the semiconductor industry. This research has three theoretical contributions. First, it engages with the gap in economic geography-based innovation studies and provides political-economic characteristics of China’s innovation development, which are beyond knowledge dynamics. Second, it contributes to the discussion on the transformation of innovation space and offers a contextualized understanding of innovation-driven development in China. Third, it reflects China’s governance changes through two innovation-driven urban projects. The study presents the complexity of the state in implementing rising state innovation strategies through variegated operations and dialogues with the state entrepreneurialism literature in a transformative and grounded manner. This study fills the gap in understanding how the state institution configures and operates to achieve its strategic development goals by using market means.

Download activity - last month

Export as JSONXMLCSV

Download activity - last 12 months

Export as XMLJSONCSV

Downloads by country - last 12 months

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Archive Staff Only

View Item