Research On Technological Learning Process Of Chinese Optical Fiber & Cable Industry

The industrial technological learning is one of the key questions of the technological innovation research on developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to study the technological learning of the optical fiber & cable industry in China. We try to answer two questions: What are the process and characteristics of the technological learning of the Chinese optical fiber & cable industry? Why did such a process appear?The process and characteristics of the technological learning of the China optical fiber & cable industry are described firstly. Based on the literature review and the existing research frame of reference, a framework is built to analyze the learning process. The mechanism of the industrial technological leaning process is analyzed based on the"technological learning cost"theory. Finally a large-scale questionnaire survey is conducted to test the research hypothesis.The main conclusions of the research are as follows:1. The process of the technological learning of the Chinese optical fiber & cable industry is reverse. And two reverse learning coexist in the industry including the reverse technological chain learning and the reverse industrial chain technological learning.2. The influential factors on the technological learning of the Chinese optical fiber & cable industry include technological regime characteristics, the institution environment, the learning driving force and the learning base. The unbalanced distribution of the four factors in the three industrial production phases (optical perfomer, fiber and cable) is the main reason of such a reverse technological learning.3. The concept of"technological learning cost"is introduced and used to discuss the reverse learning process of Chinese optical fiber & cable industry. The phase most sophisticated in technology in the industrial chain is the one with the highest learning risk and the biggest learning cost.