East West Center Research Program Seminar

July 15, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Manoa Campus, East-West Center, Burns Hall, Room 3012

---

The New Geography of Innovation – Asia’s Role in Global Innovation Networks

Dieter Ernst
Senior Fellow, East-West Center

Political debates about offshore outsourcing of manufacturing and services neglect important changes in the geography of innovation that are creating new challenges and opportunities for policy-makers. This presentation will document the emergence of global innovation networks (GINs) that integrate dispersed engineering, product development and research activities across geographic borders and will highlight Asia’s role in these networks.

Drawing upon a unique data base developed at the EWC and using questionnaire surveys and case studies, profiles of GINs in the information and communications technology industry have been collected. The sample includes almost 150 companies from the US, Asia and Europe. Companies differ in size, ownership and business model, covering large global brand leaders, specialized suppliers (of technology, core components and product development services), as well as small trans-Pacific start-up companies of foreign-born engineers from Taiwan, China and India that conduct product development and research work in Asia.

Three questions will be addressed: (i) What is new about global innovation networks? (ii) How important is Asia’s role in these networks? And (iii) how will network integration affect Asia’s innovative capabilities?

Dieter Ernst is an EWC Senior Fellow. He is a former senior advisor to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, and former research director of the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE) at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Ernst has served as scientific advisor to several institutions, among them the U.S. Social Science Research Council, World Bank, National Bureau for Asia Research, and U.N. agencies. Dr. Ernst has published numerous books and articles in leading journals on internationalization of innovation and the comparative study of Asian innovation systems. Recent books include International Production Networks in Asia: Rivalry or Riches, Technological Capabilities, Export Success: Lessons from East Asia, and Innovation Offshoring - Asia’s Emerging Role in Global Innovation Networks.

Event Sponsor
East-West Center, Manoa Campus

More Information
Laura Moriyama, 944-7444, moriyaml@eastwestcenter.org

---

 

Ongoing Events