Leveraging Global MNC Networks: China and South Korea in Global Tech Governance

• In Event: Firms and the Political Economy of Regulation

Abstract

Nowhere is the rise of emerging powers in global governance more palpable and puzzling than in the international technology rule-making. Over the past ten years, some emerging powers — China and South Korea as outstanding examples — have launched political campaigns to promote the development of indigenous technologies as new international standard, mounting a formidable challenge to the present Americentric global governance structure in technology and innovation. What is the account for China and South Korea’s unexpected win in the international technology standards competition, even though they remain as latecomer economies and catch-up states in technology? This paper proposes a ‘post catching-up state’ theory to re-evaluate the role of state in emerging economies and examine how the state is able to maintain, or even expand their ‘space to move/flexibility’ in the issue of technology governance on a global scale. It focuses on the state’s strategic leverage with multinational corporations (MNCs) and explore how they strategize technical and institutional support from global MNC networks in both the development and the promotion of their homegrown technologies as new international standards.

Author

• Yingqiu Kuang, University of British Columbia