6 - Organization

Summary

The sixth chapter extends theoretical and empirical interests in understanding the role of the Chinese government through its organization of mission-oriented mega-R&D programs (MMRDs). In particular, this chapter proposes a theoretical framework with a particular focus on such programs’ three contextual characteristics – technical goal of the mission, dominant actor, and end-user. We then apply the framework to ten cases across different historical periods and sectors in different countries to test its validity. The finding suggests that exploitative R&D with a clear and singular technical goal whose performer and end-user are public actors entails government to adopt MMRDs, while in doing so the government also should take into consideration such factors as economic efficiency, national security, and public interests. In the case of China, the state-led innovation model favors to concentrate resources on initiating MMRDs.