Learning from Technologically Successful Peers: The Convergence of Asian Laggards to the Technology Frontier

Yuzhe Miao (), Robert M. Salomon () and Jaeyong Song ()
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Yuzhe Miao: College of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
Robert M. Salomon: Professor, NYU Stern School of Business, New York, New York 10012
Jaeyong Song: Graduate School of Business, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea

Organization Science, 2021, vol. 32, issue 1, 210-232

Abstract: This paper investigates whether firms from developing countries that lag the global technological frontier can learn from technologically successful peers as a means of closing the technological gap with leaders from developed countries. We define technologically successful peers as those that hail from similar home countries, operate in the same industry, and have achieved a certain degree of success in closing the gap with the global technological frontier. We argue that technologically successful peers represent an important reference group for lagging firms and, as such, offer opportunities for lagging firms from developing countries to hasten technological development. We find that lagging firms from developing countries that build upon the knowledge of technologically successful peers achieve higher rates of technological improvement. Moreover, learning from technologically proximal successful peers helps even further with technological improvement. However, there are limits to such learning, with diminishing marginal returns to lagging firms that over rely on successful peers.

Keywords: technological convergence; laggards; reference group; patent; innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:32:y:2021:i:1:p:210-232

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