Abstract
Over the past few decades, China’s economy has experienced rapid growth, primarily relying on capital investment, resource consumption, and cheap labor. However, this growth model has become increasingly unsustainable due to mounting resource and environmental pressures. Faced with intensifying global market competition, Chinese enterprises urgently need to enhance their indigenous innovation capabilities to adapt to rapidly changing environments and promote high-quality development.
For a long time, Chinese manufacturing companies have relied on technology imports rather than indigenous innovation, which has led to insufficient innovation capabilities. In recent years, a growing number of Chinese companies have begun to enter international markets, with some approaching the cutting edge in certain technological fields, marking the entry of Chinese enterprises into the innovation-driven catch-up stage. Indigenous innovation is a key path for Chinese enterprises to break free from technological dependence and achieve leapfrog development. The concept of indigenous innovation emphasizes closing the technological gap through assimilation, absorption, and reinvention, while dynamic capabilities theory provides theoretical support for enterprises to maintain competitiveness in rapidly changing markets. In this study, dynamic capabilities are examined in three dimensions: the ability to perceive and identify opportunities, the ability to integrate internal and external resources, and the organizational change capacity to adapt to the environment. These capabilities help enterprises flexibly adjust resource allocation in complex environments. Meanwhile, imprinting theory offers a perspective on how environmental conditions during the founding stage of a firm have long-term impacts on its subsequent development and innovation paths. Understanding the interaction between imprinting and dynamic capabilities is crucial for revealing how enterprises maintain competitiveness in global markets through indigenous innovation.
This study selects WH Corporation, a Chinese company, as a case study. Through a longitudinal single-case study, the evolution of organizational imprinting and dynamic capabilities in WH’s indigenous innovation process of MDI (4, 4`-diphenylmethane diisocyanate) production technology is analyzed. Data sources include semi-structured interviews, field observations, company documents, and media reports. The study aims to reveal how imprinting and dynamic capabilities work together to drive technological advancement and enhance innovation capacity.
The core research questions include: (1) How does organizational imprinting evolve during the process of indigenous innovation in enterprises? (2) How does organizational imprinting affect the formation and development of dynamic capabilities in enterprises? (3) How do imprinting and dynamic capabilities interact to promote indigenous innovation? First, the study analyzes the organizational imprinting formed by WH Corporation during its founding and early development stages. Due to resource constraints and market environmental pressures during the founding stage, WH developed a unique organizational imprint, which became a key component of its corporate culture and has long-term effects on its technological development path.
The study finds that, during the process of technological catch-up, WH Corporation gradually formed dynamic capabilities that adapted to market changes by continually adjusting internal resource allocation and innovation strategies. Furthermore, organizational imprinting shaped the company’s innovation path and, through its enabling mechanisms, influenced dynamic capabilities, thereby helping the company respond to external changes and achieve technological breakthroughs. The imprint enabled WH to exhibit strong adaptability and sustained innovation drive when facing external challenges. This imprint not only fostered the company’s firm belief in technological catch-up and indigenous innovation but also provided the driving force for the perception, integration, and transformation of dynamic capabilities, helping the company better capture market opportunities and continuously improve its technological level. The study also finds that the organizational imprint formed in the early stages of WH Corporation is enduring, and it played a guiding role at different stages of technological innovation. For example, in a resource-constrained environment, the company enhanced its awareness of indigenous innovation and continuously attempted technological breakthroughs, ultimately forming a differentiated competitive advantage.
The significance of this study lies in expanding the applicability of dynamic capabilities theory in emerging markets. By examining the case of indigenous innovation in Chinese enterprises, it enriches the research context of dynamic capabilities and organizational imprinting theory, particularly in resource-constrained environments, and how enterprises maintain innovation vitality. The study reveals the synergistic mechanism between imprinting and dynamic capabilities by analyzing the impact of imprinting on the formation and development of dynamic capabilities, broadening the scope of imprinting theory. It emphasizes that imprinting is not only a part of corporate culture but also a driving force in the formation and activation of dynamic capabilities. Through the case of WH Corporation, this study provides an in-depth analysis of how Chinese enterprises continuously enhance their indigenous innovation capabilities amidst resource constraints and market competition, offering valuable insights into the technological innovation paths of Chinese companies. Additionally, the study provides practical guidance for business managers, highlighting how to leverage the synergistic effects of imprinting and dynamic capabilities to optimize resource allocation and enhance innovation capabilities, thereby gaining sustained competitive advantage in global competition.