A Study On Global Technology Network And Impact On The Evolution Of Regional Enterprise Networks

The practice of regional development in developed countries has proved that a well-developed enterprise networks is a driving force for regional development. And thus a large number of scholars from various professional fields including economic geographers fix their attention on this study. Since 1990s, with globalization and development of knowledge-based economy, the importance of traditional network resources such as labor, capital and land has being weakened gradually. However, technology will become the important element on influencing the evolvement and development of the enterprises. In this context, this paper takes a perspective of global technology network, aiming to study its impact to the evolution and upgrading in the enterprise networks. Furthermore, it can service for the theory innovation of economic geography and guide the healthy development of regional economy.Through the analysis over literatures of home and abroad, this paper found that in the related research on enterprise networks, scholars have generally concerned about that technology has become an important factor in the development of enterprise networks. The technological level of a firm determined its status in the regional enterprise networks, as well as the global and regional competitiveness. However, the study focused on how enterprise networks impact the technological innovation performance and the technology diffusion. On the other hand, there has been very little research analysis on how technical impact the evolution of enterprise networks. In recent years, many scholars studied the development and evolution of enterprise networks from the perspective of network power and technological power. In the context of globalization, more and more multinational companies take their technical activities into an international technology network. So it is worth studying the evolution of enterprise networks from the perspective of global technology network. But researches in this area have been neglected. In addition, there are many static researches but little dynamic research on the enterprise networks. Technology is the very important factor which impacts the evolution of enterprise networks, how the spatial mobility of technology impact the evolution of enterprise networks is worth exploring.This paper reviewed and summarized the existing researches on enterprise networks. Based on the forefront of economic geography such as technology diffusion, technology learning, this paper put forward the concept of global technology network, discussed the background and basic foundation, formation mechanism, influencing factors, action model on enterprise networks. Based on a large number of field surveys in the Shanghai Zhangjiang IC enterprise networks, the author analyzed how global technology network impact on its development process, evolutionary path, mechanism. This paper got some new findings as well: Firstly, the global technology network is the important evolutionary force to the evolutionary of the regional enterprise networks. Global technology network is a set of mutual trust, formal or informal, dynamic relationships between enterprises and other members (including suppliers, users, peer competitors, universities, research institutions, intermediaries, government, etc.) as well as external firms and related institutions. The relationships are formatted in the process of technology diffusion and technology learning. Network activities are activities of formal or informal mutual learning, technology and experience exchanging between firms or between firms and other actors existed in the network. Network resources are related technical knowledge including implicit and explicit technical knowledge. From the perspective of spatial scale, global technology network including the global technology center and the corresponding firms which has high technology potential energy, and regional technical centers and the corresponding firms which have middle technology potential energy as well as the lowland technical centers and the corresponding firms which have low-lying technology potential energy.Trade liberalization is an import driving force. Information technology provides a solid foundation, and multinational companies are the core carrier to the formation of the global technology networks. From the perspective of economic geography, the technology diffusion and technology learning in the enterprise networks should not be limited in the region, but should catch the global technology spillovers and diffusion all around the world, and enhance the technical capabilities through the technological learning. In addition, not only geographical proximity but also relational proximity can be as a means of explicit technical knowledge spread and diffusion, especially the practice communities/technology communities based on the relational proximity, can achieve the explicit technical knowledge spread and diffusion of long-range, cross-regional/national boundaries. Based on the above two points, the global technology network was formed. Global technology network has two main activities, technology diffusion and spillover is the main way of technology flow, technology learning and innovation is an important means of the evolution of technology location in the global technology network.Secondly, the global technology network affects the spatial behavior and innovation, thereby affecting the evolution of the regional enterprise networks. In the formation period of the regional enterprise networks, spatial impact played a leading role. Technology diffusion/spillover can increase the firm's knowledge accumulation and creation of new knowledge, it is an important chance to improve their innovation capability, as well as improve the competitive advantage. Technology diffusion/ spillover have become the important factor which influences the location choice of a firm. In order to catch the technology diffusion/spillover, firms tend to gather in one place. In the growing period of the regional enterprise networks, technology diffusion /spillover which lead to firms'spatial concentration are still attractive, especially lots of company's R & D institutions, universities, research institutes'entering into. In the aspect of innovation, in order to accelerate the localization of the enterprise networks, the leader firm in the global technology network will provide various forms of technology diffusion/spillover; aiming to enable more firms have the ability to become a supporter to the leader firm, to achieve specialization within the network. In the developing period of the regional enterprise networks, innovative impact played a leading role.In the first place, advanced technology from the global technology network will be transferred to the technological goalkeeper in regional enterprise networks, after the digestion and absorption, these technologies has become the common recessive technical knowledge in regional enterprise networks, rising the technological level of the network. Formed a cycle in which the technical capacity improvement continuously, pushing advanced technology by global technology network-digestion and absorption of technology goalkeeper-technology spillovers and diffusion-rising the technological level of the network-enhancing absorptive capacity-pushing more advanced technology.Thirdly, Global technology network played an important role in evolution of Zhangjiang IC enterprise networks. The process of technology development in Zhangjiang IC enterprise networks is the introduction of technology-technology cooperation-technology innovation, In the construction period of the regional enterprise networks, technology diffusion/spillover of the global technology network promoted the formation of the regional enterprise networks. SMIC got the advanced technology from the technology diffusion/spillover of leader firms in the global technology network. Thus it led to the agglomeration of upstream and downstream firms in Zhangjiang Park. In the growing period, global technology leader firms(R & D institutions) connected the various public service platforms in the regional enterprise networks through joint technology research and development, technology transfer and diffusion, personnel training, etc., promoted the development of enterprise networks effectively, In the developing period of the regional enterprise networks, the transnational technical community accelerated the innovation within the regional enterprise networks. The case of Spreadtrum shows that R & D team which from Silicon Valley, interactive mode between Silicon Valley and mainland, and strengthen technology links with Silicon Valley have been the key to its success. Meanwhile, technical controls from the technology leader firms or countries, to some extent, hinder the functional upgrading in Zhangjiang IC enterprise networks.