Catch-up, Innovation and Technological Leadership under Sectoral Change: Evidence from an Emerging Market Wind Energy Sector

This paper analyzes differences in latecomer firms’ catch-up trajectories in the context of major technological regime shifts. Combining the frameworks of sectoral innovation systems, catch-up cycles, and technological regimes, the paper advances our understanding of latecomer firms’ catch-up under sectoral change where the technological frontier is moving. This paper finds that latecomer firms show different capabilities and strategies in responding to technological change, which explains variations in catch-up trajectories. This allows for identifying enabling factors for technological catch-up at the national and firm levels. This study draws on empirical evidence from the Chinese wind energy sector and provides novel insights into the concepts of catch-up cycles and technological leadership in emerging markets.