英文文献及翻译 中国在创新上的发展潜力

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1、外文翻译：中国在创新上的发展潜力原文来源：Knowledge Wharton.Chinas Growing Talent for InnovationJ.沃顿知识在线（）2009年7月8日正文译文：中国在商业创新上优势众多：拥有众多适应能力强、善于随机应变、热衷于逆向工程的人才，而且运营环境成本低。在中国努力从劳动力密集和低附加值消费品制造业向更具创新力的经济体转型的过程中，发达国家企业要么将从中受益，要么将面临竞争。然而，对国外企业来说，在中国创新并不那么容易。另外，在中国寻求研发伙伴的发达国家企业必须谨慎从事。目前，许多大型跨国公司（MNCs）已经将研发中心设在中国，同时，中国政府开始鼓励

2、企业发展设计和创新能力。但是，对外来者来说，要在中国进行创新仍然困难重重。同时，专家提醒，发达国家企业必须学习如何在一个全新的产业结构中运作，在选择研发伙伴时必须谨慎从事。对跨国公司而言，利用中国创新能力的模式主要有两种：部件研发的外包，以及针对本国市场消费品进行创新研发。本文是中国制造业特别报告的一部分。来自波士顿咨询公司（BCG）和沃顿商学院的专家们就企业如何在中国创新研发中获利，中国创新研发的动力何在，以及在中国寻找研发伙伴可能会面临的挑战等问题发表了自己的看法。全球经济衰退的影响波士顿咨询公司芝加哥办事处的资深合伙人及董事总经理，全球创新负责人吉姆?安德鲁（Jim Andrew）说，在

3、目前经济萧条的背景下，企业应该确保每一分投入都有所回报，创新投资也应如此。安德鲁认为，在低成本国家如中国和印度所进行的创新研发，是企业用来提高成本效率的方法之一。他认为，当前的变化正在重新定义创新格局。“拥有低成本市场的发展中国家，其创新得到了前所未有的发展，而发达国家的市场危机又加剧了这种发展。将来如果回过头来看这段时期，我们会说，现在是一个转折点，中国和印度的创新正如火如荼地进行，而且这些创新所带来的变化日新月异。” 波士顿咨询公司北京办事处的资深合伙人兼董事总经理麦维德（David Michael）说，改革开放以前，中国的创新研发仅限于当时政府部门下属的设计机构。从那时起，部分设计机构就

4、开始转而追求商业目的。麦维德说，国有企业中国石油（PetroChina）的情况正是如此。中石油拥有一个大规模的设计机构网络。跨国公司开始认识到中国的巨大发展潜力，包括大量的研发机会以及低成本生产与运营。安德鲁说，受过良好教育的人才更是一大吸引力。“这些人才可以用来发展研究能力。不仅在国内市场，在发达国家市场，这些研究所带来的影响也日益增大。”对在中国设立研发中心的跨国公司，麦维德说，“这样做更多地是出于对人才利用的考虑，而不是为了获取某种特殊的创新源泉。”因而，中国的创新呈现出与全球其它研发基地如硅谷等地显著不同的发展态势。他补充说，“中国的工程类人才成本很低，但这并不等于说，我们就可以轻易取

5、得创新的成果。”对发达国家企业来说，这类缺乏经验的工程人才非常有价值。麦维德认为，跨国公司利用中国设计能力的最佳方式是外包产品的部分组件。与制造业外包一样，中国研发的优势主要在于低成本劳动力 - 但在此是指脑力劳动，而非体力劳动。他说，“西方或世界领先企业争相获取中国的低成本市场，新型的企业也可以利用这种机会。”比如在医药卫生领域，有些中国企业已经开始为西方的研发需求提供低成本服务。麦维德用上海外高桥自由贸易区的无锡药明康德新药开发有限公司作为例子。药明康德是为全球制药产业提供研究外包的领先企业，在为西方制药项目配给人才上非常老练。“管理者了解西方制药企业的需求，而且知道如何利用当地的研发人才

6、来完成任务。”在东西合作中，这种劳动力分工非常普遍。麦维德说，西方公司通常通过组件或模块外包的方式切入中国设计市场。他说，有一家全球能源公司“向本地企业的设计机构外包了大量石油勘探和钻井设备的设计工程”。微软以及其它西方或韩国的游戏软件开发公司都有一个本地软件开发商网络。麦维德还提到了目前“在三维产业刚刚兴起”的中国游戏软件“完美世界”（Perfect World）。摩根?斯坦利研究机构（Morgan Stanley Research）表明，虽然“完美世界”尚未打入美国或欧洲市场，但是已经成为中国网络游戏市场的领头羊。研发和破坏这种产业专业化很常见。专门研究中国市场的沃顿管理学教授马歇尔?迈尔

7、（Marshall Meyer）说，中国的企业研发往往集中在具体产业和产品发展上，而不是基础研究。“你可以看到中国在机械工具和激光上的成就，但这只是研发与市场共同作用的结果，而不是基础研究。”安德鲁说，中国企业擅长研发的“发展”部分。“如果你研发了一种新产品，即使只是比现有产品好那么一点点，你仍然会很快在现有市场中取得大规模成功。如今竞争日益激烈，市场需要更富有创新意识、更符合实际需要的产品与服务，有些需要并没有得到满足。”最近的一个例子是用于制作豆浆饮料的大豆搅拌机。山东济南九阳股份有限公司（Joyoung Co.）生产的搅拌机已经成为“一大热卖产品”。他说，这种产品的技术没有什么特别之处-

8、只是一个塑料机身再加一电力马达，但是“它的基本概念满足了本地消费者所需”。麦维德认为，更富戏剧性的是，台湾电脑生产商华硕（Asus）运用自身的研发能力，“轻而易举地开发了上网本的市场”。该款上网笔记本的其他功能被弱化，价格定位在三百美元一台，“彻底瓦解了全球个人电脑市场”。然而，安德鲁认为，现有市场开始饱和，中国必须在“研究”上投入更多，来改变竞争优势，或者扩展全新市场。麦维德指出，盗版损害了中国传统游戏软件产业的收益，但是网络游戏产业并没有受到影响。“人们在为联机网络游戏付费。虽然盗版仍然存在，但是这个产业已经开始获益。”创新能力有望持续增长。迈尔解释说，“中国文化非常擅长快速有效地解决问题

9、。随机应变屡见不鲜。”比如，随着电脑对中文语言卡的需求不断增加，联想（Lenovo）早在几年前就为自己的产品开发了一个类似的语言卡。中国大型家用电器生产商海尔集团（Haier）发现，中国的土豆种植者用海尔洗衣机清洗土豆，于是设计了一款能够在户外使用的重负荷特殊功能洗衣机。迈尔说，它“既可以用来洗衣服，也可以用来洗土豆。”电子和电器产品制造商总是能够设计出一些“在电力供应不足下超负荷运作”的产品。国内市场并不是中国创新企业的唯一重点。波士顿咨询公司上海办事处的董事经理和负责人金大伟（David Jin）认为，一些中国企业已经在尝试挑战大型跨国公司 - 并且取得了成功。2006年，有一个案例受到高

10、度关注。为争夺断路器专利权，中国电器生产商正泰电器（Chint）与法国施奈德电器（Schneider Electric）中国分公司打起官司，并赢得了诉讼。金引用了许多西方企业控告发展中国家专利侵权的案件，他说，“一般来讲，情况恰恰相反。”除此之外，许多高科技公司在国外也取得了成功。根据2008年7月花旗集团（Citigroup Global Markets）的报告，中国医疗技术公司（China Medical Technologies），一家生产无创诊断和治疗机的供应商，在与跨国公司的竞争中，至少在一项产品上获得了大于90%的市场份额，另一项产品上拥有70%的市场份额。选择商业模式沃顿和波士顿

11、咨询公司的专家们认为，对想利用中国创新研发能力的发达国家企业来说，重要的是选择合适的商业模式。波士顿咨询公司北京办事处合伙人及董事总经理，供应链和采购专家利嘉伟（David Lee）说，这些模式包括普通的一系列一次性订单，通过供应商发展项目进行联合技术合作，以及股权投资中国供应商等。利补充说，合作并不存在一个最佳模式。他曾经看到过几个跨国公司投资于他们的供应商，但是“很多人并不喜欢那样的模式”，部分原因是潜在的管理分歧。他说，一些中国企业“不愿意改变传统工作模式”。在人力资源和材料浪费方面，尤其容易产生摩擦。然而，很多人已经开始在制造过程中控制原材料损耗，并且开始提高薪资水平，注重精细生产和提

12、高生产力水平。许多跨国公司已经开发出供应商发展项目，向中国合作方转让部分技术，并向他们传授最佳实践模式。但是即使是这些模式，对有些企业来说仍然非常陌生。李说，发达国家企业通常不用为本国产品的质量监控而忧心忡忡，“因为供应商会在质量监控上主动投资”。中国的市场竞争非常激烈且充满活力，因此创新的迅猛势头将会持续发展。企业为提高生产率而感到压力重重。麦维德指出，在过去几十年内，中国制造业的薪资水平相对平稳-这使得薪资生产率得以提高-但是现在劳动力市场紧缩，薪资水平已经开始上涨。他说，未来的挑战将是设法在通货膨胀对薪资水平造成影响之前，促进生产力增长。中期内，现有劳动力供给将不会达到过去的水平-尽管目

13、前全球经济衰退已经让数以百万计的工人闲置在家，但是国有企业重组释放大量人才的现象已经接近尾声。与此同时，农民收入的增加-至少在最近是如此-限制了农民工向工业化地区的转移。这将给予劳动力更大的空间。最终，从长远来看，随着劳动力越来越多地进入制造行业，企业将不得不通过进一步创新“在中国环境下提高生产力”。全球经济下滑可能在短期内会减缓这种趋势，甚至扭转一些趋势。但在中长期，中国有望在制造业和服务业获得进一步的创新能力。创新与知识产权渗透式的知识产权保护模式是否对研发创新有负面影响？波士顿咨询公司芝加哥办事处的资深合伙人，全球企业运营实践领导人哈罗德?塞金（Harold Sirkin）认为，并不一定

14、有负面影响。当你在创新时，“比如你在创建一个品牌，这种知识产权不同于专利权。”赛金说，知识产权保护对创新所起的作用日益减少，即使在西方也是如此。“这个世界变得如此之小，即使你发明了下一个iTunes，你也不可能依赖专利保护。”他说，“无论在哪里，复制都太容易了。iTunes和iPod的市场吸引力在很大程度上取决于它原有的市场基础。” 但是，创新和知识产权保护之间的联系由来已久。中国已经充分认识到这种联系的价值，开始努力由一个低附加值的制造中心向创新的领导者转变，尤其是在其它低成本国家也开始参与核心业务竞争时。波士顿咨询公司北京办事处的负责人迈克?赵（Mike Chao）指出，“中国早就有了知识

15、产权保护法，然而在过去20年内，知识产权法的解释和执行得到了不断的提高。政策的公布和执行之间的区别很大。”一个明显的例子是软件产业。在加入波士顿咨询公司以前，他为微软中国就盗版问题进行了五年多的斗争。迫于来自微软与美国政府的巨大压力，中国在2003年正式宣布，政府部门只能使用合法软件。这一声明之后又颁布了两条法令，要求PC制造商只能预装正版软件，中国企业也只能使用合法软件。赵说，“这无疑是往正确的方向迈进了一步，但是要提高执法力度，增强政策规范意识，仍然有很多工作要做。”而另一方面，他注意到中国政府资助的研究项目往往与政府官员的任期时间一致，从而有可能为了短期利益而牺牲长期利益。“创新需要长期

16、投入，企业需要确保在创新上的投入不会很快被窃取。”他认为，投资研究（Research）还是发展（Development）的区别在于：“研究的结果往往无法预测，但是发展可以保证实际产出。根据政府最近公布的激励计划，那些能够将研究结果产品化并推向市场的企业有可能会得到更多的资助。”他还指出，受到资助的学术机构往往“在将研究成果商业化上做得不够好”。 尽管如此，不断完善的知识产权政策并不一定会促进中国的创新浪潮。“最终，市场将迫使你进行创新和产品差异化。如果你的企业不这样做，其它企业就会赶上。”他用PC产业作为一个例子。去年，中国笔记本电脑的价格平均下降了13%，这在很大程度上是迫于新型上网本的面世

17、、其它低成本产品的供应，以及产品无差异化所带来的压力。“华硕找到了通过上网本来破坏和重塑市场的途径，现在其他PC厂商正在竞相下调价格来追赶市场。”创新是，而且始终是竞争的关键。中国的创新能力无疑将决定其在全球经济中的未来。Chinas Growing Talent for InnovationAs a business innovator, China has a wealth of advantages. These include a huge, adaptable population with an affinity for improvisation and reverse engi

18、neering; low-cost labor, operations and overhead; and mature industrial clusters ready to supply a variety of parts, components and subassemblies. These elements are creating a strong culture of innovation, one that companies from developed economies soon will either profit from, or compete against,

19、 as China moves beyond labor-intensive, low-value-added consumer goods.Already, many large multinational corporations (MNCs) have set up R&D centers in China, and the government is encouraging the development of design capabilities among its workforce. But China is not an easy place for outsiders to

20、 be innovators. Companies from developed economies looking for R&D partners in China must learn to operate within an industrial structure quite different from their own, and take great care in selecting whom to work with and how, experts caution.MNCs are likely to find that the best opportunities fo

21、r harnessing Chinese-style innovation lie in two areas: discrete, targeted pieces of larger products and products for home-market consumption.In this article, part of a special report on Chinese manufacturing, experts from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Wharton look at how companies can profi

22、t from Chinese innovation, what drives this innovation, and what challenges they face in sourcing R&D in China.Global Recessions RoleJim Andrew, a senior partner and managing director in BCGs Chicago office and head of its global innovation practice, says that in the current recession, companies nee

23、d to ensure that they are getting full benefit from every dollar they spend - including their investments in innovation. Andrew sees growing innovation in low-cost countries such as China and India as one way for companies to increase the cost-effectiveness of their innovation spending. The crisis i

24、n the developed markets has accelerated the move to developing markets because they are lower-cost and now have a track record, he says, noting that the changes afoot are redefining the innovation landscape. We will look back on this time and say it was an inflection point with regard to the speed a

25、t which certain innovation activities were scaled up in China and India in particular. There is really a step-function change in the rate at which some of these activities are growing.Innovation in China before its economy opened up was limited to design institutes that were part of government depar

26、tments, says David Michael, a senior partner and director of BCGs Beijing office. Some of institutes have since been repurposed for new commercial goals. Such is the case with the state-owned oil company PetroChina, which has a large network of design institutes within it, according to Michael.MNCs

27、now realize that China has tremendous development capabilities, including the ability to size up opportunities and rapidly bring products to shelves at low cost. The availability of well-educated talent is particularly attractive, Andrew says. You can access that talent to do a lot more of the R (re

28、search) that is increasingly relevant not just to Chinas domestic markets but to developed markets. For MNCs that set up R&D centers in China, It is more about accessing talent rather than some unique source of innovation, Michael notes. That makes innovation in China substantially different from th

29、at in other global hubs such as the Silicon Valley. There is low-cost engineering talent in China, but thats different from saying that there is a whole fountain of innovation we can tap into, he adds.This raw engineering talent is a valuable resource for companies from developed economies. The best

30、 way for MNCs to tap into Chinese design skills is by sourcing select pieces of their product, Michael says. As is true for contract manufacturing, much of the advantage of Chinese R&D is in low-cost labor - but for brains, not brawn. When Western or world-class business practices line up with low C

31、hinese costs, new types of companies develop to take advantage of this opportunity, he notes.In health sciences, for instance, some Chinese companies are already responding to Western research needs with low-cost services. Michael offers WuXi PharmaTech in Shanghais Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone as an

32、example. WuXi, a leading provider of contract research work for the global pharmaceutical industry, has become adept at setting its engineers to work on Western pharma projects. Its run by people who understand the needs of Western pharmaceutical companies and know how to leverage local engineering

33、talent to do the work.This kind of division of labor is common in such East-West partnerships. Western companies typically tap into Chinese design for parts or modules, Michael says. One global energy company gets a lot of its design for oil exploration and drilling facilities in China at the local

34、oil companies design institutes, he notes. Microsoft and other Western and Korean gaming and software development companies have a network of local software developers. Michael also points to Perfect World, a Chinese gaming software writer that is booming in the 3-D world. It may not be a household

35、name in the United States or Europe yet, but Perfect World is a leader in the countrys online game market, according to Morgan Stanley Research.Development Attitude and DisruptionSuch industry specialization is common. Corporate R&D in China tends to focus on specific industries and on product devel

36、opment rather than basic research, says Marshall Meyer, a Wharton management professor whose research focuses on China. You see successes in China in machine tools and lasers, but it has been a combination of development and marketing more than basic research.Chinese companies have been good at the

37、D (development) part, Andrew says. You could grow very large very quickly by playing in existing markets if you developed new products that were just a little better than everybody elses. But with increased competition everywhere, it takes products and services that are more innovative and targeted

38、to needs that are not already being met. One recent example is a soybean blender that produces a popular soy milk drink. Joyoung Co. in Jinan, Chinas Shandong province, manufactures the blender, which has become a big hit product. The blender has no fancy technology - just a plastic body with an ele

39、ctric motor, but its fundamental concept is what local consumers want, he says.More dramatically, according to Michael, Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asus used its development capabilities to single-handedly invent the netbook segment of the PC market. Producing computers stripped down in function

40、ality and priced at $300 each, Asus has completely disrupted the global PC market.As existing markets become saturated, however, China must invest more in the R part of R&D to compete differently or to expand into fundamentally new markets, Andrew says. And while piracy has eroded profit opportuniti

41、es in Chinas traditional gaming software industry, Michael points out that it has not similarly affected online games. People are paying for the experience of playing games with each other, and that turns out to be profitable despite some piracy.Longer-term, the capacity to innovate seems likely to

42、grow. The culture is very, very good at devising quick and often effective solutions to problems, Meyer explains. I see a lot of improvisation. An increasing demand for a Chinese language card in computers, for example, prompted Lenovo years ago to create one for its products. Chinese white-goods ma

43、nufacturer Haier found that potato farmers in China were using their washing machines to clean produce, so it designed a heavy-duty, special-purpose machine that can be used outdoors and will wash your clothes or your potatoes, Meyer notes. Electronic and electrical manufacturers often design produc

44、ts that work with very heavy-duty power supplies because of the poor quality of electricity in the country.Nor are Chinese innovators focused entirely on their domestic market. According to David Jin, managing director and head of BCGs Shanghai office, some Chinese companies have already tried to ou

45、t-innovate large MNCs - and succeeded. In one highly publicized case in 2006, Chinese electrical products maker Chint won a lawsuit over its patent for a circuit breaker against the Chinese unit of the French company Schneider Electric. Usually, it is the other way around, Jin says, alluding to West

46、ern companies accusing those in developing countries of patent infringements. Many high-tech operations are succeeding abroad as well. China Medical Technologies, a supplier of in-vitro diagnosis and treatment systems, competes with MNCs and commands a market share of more than 90% in at least one p

47、roduct segment and 70% in another, according to a July 2008 report from Citigroup Global Markets.Choosing a Business ModelFor companies in developed economies that want to harness Chinese innovation, Wharton and BCG experts say its important to select the right business model. These models range fro

48、m plain-vanilla purchasing through a series of one-off orders, to joint technological collaborations through supplier development programs, to taking an equity position in Chinese suppliers, says David Lee, partner and managing director in BCGs Beijing office and a supply chain and procurement speci

49、alist.No one-size-fits-all formula exists for such partnerships, Lee adds. He has seen several MNCs invest in their suppliers, but a lot of them dont like the idea, in part because of potential management disagreements. Some Chinese companies are reluctant to change the way they have worked historic

50、ally, he says, adding that the handling of human resources and material waste, in particular, could be points of friction. However, many of them have begun reining in waste of materials in manufacturing processes and increasing wage levels have got them to focus on lean manufacturing and productivit

51、y enhancement, he adds.Many MNCs have rolled out supplier development programs, transferring pieces of technology and attempting to transfer their best practices to Chinese partners. But this, too, is unfamiliar territory for some. Companies from developed economies typically havent had to worry muc

52、h about quality control in their home markets because suppliers themselves take the initiative to invest in quality-control processes, Lee says.Markets are so competitive and dynamic in China that innovation is likely to continue relentlessly. Companies are being pressured for ever more gains in pro

53、ductivity. And where Chinese manufacturing wages were relatively flat for many decades - allowing wage productivity to grow - labor markets have tightened and wages have started rising, Michael points out.The challenge going forward will be to accelerate productivity growth ahead of any inflationary

54、 pressure on wages, he says. The available labor supply in the medium term will not be as large as it was in the past - although the global economic slowdown has idled millions of workers for the moment. But the release of large blocks of talent through the restructuring of state-owned enterprises i

55、s almost complete. At the same time, rising farm incomes - at least until very recently - had constrained the supply of migrant rural labor to the industrial centers, Michael explains. That gave labor more leverage. Ultimately, as labor increasingly absorbs more manufacturing resources in the long r

56、un, companies will have to push even further for innovative solutions with a focus on driving more productivity increases in Chinese operations. The global economic downturn will likely slow the pace of these trends - and even reverse some - in the short term. But over the mid-term and beyond, expec

57、t China to build upon its already substantial innovative capabilities in manufacturing and services.Innovation and Intellectual PropertyDoes porous intellectual property protection have a negative impact on r innovation? Not necessarily, says Harold Sirkin, senior partner at BCG in Chicago and globa

58、l leader of the firms operations practice. When you innovate, youre creating a brand, and thats a different kind of intellectual property (IP) than a patent. IP protection is growing less important to innovation, even in the West, Sirkin notes. The world has gotten so small that even if you invent t

59、he next iTunes, you cant rely on patent protection, he notes. Its readily copied now, everywhere. A lot of the market appeal with iTunes and the iPod is about their installed base.However, innovation and protection of IP have long been connected, and China has duly noted that linkage in its attempts

60、 to transform itself from a low value-added manufacturing center to recognized innovation leader, particularly as lower-cost countries compete for Chinas core business. Mike Chao, a Principal at BCG in Beijing, notes that, The IP laws have always been there, but whats changed in the last 20 years is

61、 how they have been interpreted and enforced. Theres a big difference between policy and enforcement. One notable example is the software industry, where Chao battled piracy with Microsoft China for over five years before joining BCG. After strong lobbying by Microsoft in partnership with the US gov

62、ernment, China declared in 2003 that the government would only use legal software. That announcement was followed by two additional decrees requiring that PC manufacturers only preinstall genuine software and Chinese enterprises only use legal software. While thats absolutely a step in the right dir

63、ection, theres still work to do in terms of bringing up the levels of enforcement and awareness to comply with the policies, Chao says.On another front, however, he notes the Chinese governments tendency to provide research grants to projects that have the same time frame as the tenure of bureaucrat

64、s, thus sacrificing long-term horizons for short-term gains. Innovation requires a long-term approach, and companies need to know their hard work wont just be stolen right away. Therein lies the difference between betting the company on the R or the D: Research is never a sure thing, but development

65、 can consistently result in realizable output, Chao explains. With the recently announced government stimulus programs, there is hope that more funding will go to the companies that can actually productize that research and bring it to market. Academic institutions that have traditionally received such grants have not had a great track record in commercialization, Chao points out. Evolving IP policies, however, will not ne