Global Competition: FDI and the International Competitiveness of Chinese Industries: FDI and the International Competitiveness of Chinese Industries

Author: Yang Danhui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: This book starts from the demand characteristics of the ICT industry, specifically the network effect characteristics, to study its impact on the market structure, corporate behavior, and public policy of the industry. The author attempts to provide a theoretical analytical framework for understanding the ICT industry in the network era. Based on an in-depth analysis and redefined concept of network effects, the author systematically examines the market equilibrium characteristics, technological innovation features, competitive behavior patterns, industrial impact of standards and compatibility, as well as the resulting public policy challenges in the ICT industry. This book not only conducts an in-depth and systematic study of the fundamental issues of network effect economic theory but also offers unique insights into emerging economic phenomena in the ICT industry in recent years, such as "winner-take-all" and "technological lock-in." The book contributes to advancing the research on "network economics" and the "ICT industry" and holds certain driving and reference value. This is a specialized economic monograph on the industrial organization issues of the ICT (information and communication technology) industry. The author argues that network effects are the most important feature distinguishing the ICT industry from industries with significant economies of scale, such as automobiles and steel, and also the fundamental reason why the current IT industry exhibits different economic characteristics from traditional IT industries. The network effects in the telecommunications industry are inherent in and generated by the "communication network" from the outset, whereas the network effects in the IT industry are a product of the increasing "networking" of IT. The networking and digitalization of IT and communication technologies are making the technical foundations of the two industries increasingly "convergent." Meanwhile, the growing share of the ICT industry in a nation's economy is increasing the economic impact of its "network" characteristics. The author keenly and prospectively grasps the correlation between this technological trend and the new characteristics of the ICT industry, thereby making the content of this book distinct from both traditional economic studies of the ICT industry and existing "network economics" theories.