Innovation in China: The Chinese Software Industry

A key question for China, which has for some time been a leading global manufacturing base, is whether China can progress from being a traditional centre of manufacturing to becoming a centre for innovation. In this book, Shang-Ling Jui focuses on China’s software industry and examines the complete innovation value chain of software in its key phases of innovation, standards definition, development and marketing. He argues that, except for software development, these key phases are of high added-value and that without adopting the concept of independent innovation as a guiding ideology, China’s software enterprises – like India’s – would have an uncertain future. In other words, the lack of core competence in the development of China’s software industry might restrain the industry from taking the leading position and drive it towards becoming no more than the software workshop of multinationals over the long term. Shang-Ling Jui contends that China’s software industry should and can possess its own complete innovation value chain. Having worked in China’s software industry for many years, the author provides an inside-out perspective – identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the industry and defining the challenges in China’s transition from "Made in China" to "Innovated in China."