The intellectual evolution of the technological catch-up literature: Bibliometric analysis

Ebrahim Souzanchi Kashani, Slavo Radosevic, Mehdi Kiamehr and Hossein Gholizadeh

Research Policy, 2022, vol. 51, issue 7

Abstract: We analyse the growing literature on technological catch-up since the 1980s to identify its intellectual bases and evolution. The analysis uses co-occurrence and co-citation techniques to explore trends in keywords, journals, documents, and authors. In the 1980s, the area was characterised by two unrelated streams of work on macroeconomic growth and the building of technological capabilities at the micro-level in developing economies. During the 1990s, when the technological catch-up literature began to take off, these two streams of literature evolved further and came closer to each other. During the 2000s, firm-level studies rooted in resource-based and knowledge-based views proliferated. From 2010 they were followed by an increased number of studies of latecomer firm internationalisation. The field's qualitative evolution has been characterised by the convergence between the economic growth and technology capabilities literature, a change of focus from the macro issues of growth and convergence to firm (latecomer firm) and sectoral level issues, and a dominant concern about the relationship between globalisation and technology upgrading at the sectoral or mezzo level. There are four streams that currently underpin research on technology catch up: economic growth, systems of innovation, knowledge management, and industrial dynamics cum global value chains and latecomer firm.

Keywords: Catch-up; Economic growth; Latecomer firm; Technology capability; Internationalisation; Global value chain; Bibliometric (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:51:y:2022:i:7:s0048733322000658

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2022.104538

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