Public Prive Partnerships in high tech innovation networks. The case of China Solid State Lightening Alliance

Public Prive Partnerships in high tech innovation networks. The case of China Solid State Lightening Alliance Joop Koppenjan, Yixing Cao,and Peter Marks Department of Public Administration, Erasmus University Rotterdam... [ view full abstract ]

Public Prive Partnerships in high tech innovation networks. The case of China Solid State Lightening Alliance
Joop Koppenjan, Yixing Cao,and Peter Marks
Department of Public Administration, Erasmus University Rotterdam
16/10/2015

Abstract
Solid State Lightening (SSL) is a booming high-tech industry worldwide, and particularly in China. As a latecomer, the industry’s output value was only $1.4 billion in 2003. In 2014, the industry’s output value reached 350.7 billion RMB ($55.2 billion), 37% more than the previous year. The value is predicted to exceed $157.4 billion in 2020, which would save 340 billion kWh of energy. China Solid State Lightening Alliance (CSA) is an integrated industrial service provider. Founded in 2004, it has more than 500 members, occupying 70% of the output value of the LED (most common used form of SSL) industry in China in the year 2013. Members consist of firms (87%), research institute (6%), universities (4%) and industrial associations (3%). CSA has four main functions: government consulting, innovation coordinating, industrial service and international cooperation.
The success of the China’s Solid State Lightening industry (SSL) and the role of the CSA therein, give food to the assumption that this success can be attributed to a large extent to the quality of collaboration between industrial partners, knowledge industry and government. The research question addressed in this paper is how the partnership between governments, business and public, private and knowledge institutes fostered this success and what governance model lay under it. Although studies on these innovative industrial networks are not new, empirical knowledge on how these networks are governed, especially in the context of China, is still limited. Since the Chinese economy and society will increasingly rely on innovation and the development of high tech industrial sector of the economy, research into governance models is needed.
The case study will analyse the development of the SSL during the last decade and the role of China Solid State Lightening Alliance in this development. Existing for just over 10 years, CSA has been actively coordinating the industry and building strategic relationships with the government, to facilitate the industry’s growth. The study will build on literature about National System of Innovation, Open Innovation, Triple Helix Innovation, and Public Private Partnerships. Since the CSA is co-financing this research, the researchers have access to data sources and respondents.
More specifically the case study will describe:
-the organization, governance structure and the functioning of the CSA
-the crucial events and tipping points in the development of the China’s Solid State Lightening industry during the last decade
-the factors that were of influence on the occurrence and direction of these moments, more specifically the quality of collaboration within the network, the role of the CSA and the government policies.