Understanding Innovation Spaces through Emerging Multinational Enterprises in China: An Explorative Case Study of a Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacture

Book chapter, 2015

This chapter firstly provides a theoretical framing to explicitly relate the entrepreneur (individual) with the venture (company) to the national innovation system in China. The proposed framework defines an innovation space as a multifaceted organism not restricted geographically; but rather seen as consisting of multiple levels, including institutional, organisational and geographical aspects. This chapter also provides empirical insights of this journey from entrepreneurial venture to multinational enterprise, by focusing upon the process of expansion and internationalization of research and development of the Chinese wind turbine manufacturer. In doing so, the chapter provides a thick case description, with many details about the development of this Chinese company in the renewable energy industry. Right from its establishment in 2006, the company has been emphasizing the importance of innovation for its activities.