High-tech industries and competitive advantage in emerging markets: A study of foreign telecommunications equipment firms in China

This paper deals with the issue of competitive advantage among high-tech industries in emerging markets. It is argued that, for high-tech multi-national companies (MNCs) competing in emerging markets, technology leadership generates some very important competitive advantage that past research has not studied sufficiently. Data from 408 foreign-funded firms competing in China's telecommunications equipment industry provides convincing evidence supporting this argument. The results of this study highlight the need for high-tech firms to maintain technology leadership in international markets, including emerging markets. The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of the findings.