Dr. Weiwei Wu, Professor

School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China

Biography

Dr. Weiwei Wu is a Professor at Harbin Institute of Technology, China, where he received his Ph.D, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in management. He was a SPURS (Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies) fellow from 2011 to 2012 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, and served as the consultant of Asian Development Bank (ADB) from 2021 to 2024. His research focuses on technology management and technological innovation. His research has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Social Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Education of China and etc. He has published more than 100 articles in journals, including Information & Management, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Telematics and Informatics, Journal of Knowledge Management, among others. He serves as the Associate Editor of Journal of Management Science. He is the Council Member of Chinese Society of Technology Economics, and the Founding Member of Asia Entrepreneurship Education Association.

Topic

How Do Latecomer Firms Achieve Catch-up Through Technology Management: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The catch-up of latecomer firms has been a topic of interest because it is closely related to the changes in industry leadership. The reason why some countries are more successful in catch-up is because of their increasing mastery of technology management (TM). Therefore, to ensure successful catch-up, it is imperative for latecomer firms to understand the TM practices and TM modes across national boundaries. This paper aims to reveal the differences in TM practices and TM modes between latecomer firms and forerunner firms. This paper collected data from Chinese firms and Korean firms as latecomers and forerunners, respectively, to examine the differences in TM practices and TM modes. The results show that latecomer firms place more emphasis on grasping the condition of firms’ equipment, understanding technology talents required by business, and completing files on technology information. While forerunner firms stress learning from other competitors, effective training, and constructing detailed technology information management system most. Furthermore, the relationship between TM and product innovation performance is more integrated for forerunner firms compared to latecomer firms. A key contribution of this paper is to reveal the differences in TM practices and TM modes between latecomer firms and forerunner firms, which enriches the catch-up literature from an international comparative perspective. As such, this paper is of great importance in broadening the understanding of how latecomer firms transform into global leaders.