Carnegie Mellon University
January 10, 2017

How Chinese Cities are Spurring Innovation

Cities around the world with emerging tech hubs are asking what’s in Silicon Valley’s so-called “secret sauce,” and how they can emulate the famed region’s success.

In order to demystify that secret, Stanford Assistant Professor Chuck Eesley and Daniel Armanios, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, sometimes visit places far away from Silicon Valley – where entrepreneurial ecosystems are still in their infancy.

They research environmental influences that lead to high-tech ventures, and that are therefore critical for aspiring entrepreneurs. For a recently published study, the two spent time in Beijing’s bustling Haidian district – home to some of China’s most prominent universities and technology companies.

In this work, they find that entrepreneurs in the private sector can leverage institutional intermediaries such as science parks to access public financing, even when they do not have political relationships. Returnees who come back to China after building extensive experience abroad benefit from the credibility science parks have to locally vouch for the quality of their skills. On other hand, local elites, those trained at prestigious local universities, have ample technical skills but often lack the managerial know-how of returnees. These entrepreneurs benefit from the business training and services that they receive within a science park.

 

Read more and view the transcript.