5. Asia’s innovation imperative
To continue Asia's economic transformation, improving productivity is essential. And innovation can contribute greatly to improved productivity.
A number of Asian economies rank highly on the Global Innovation Index -- Singapore 5th, Korea 12th, Japan 13th, Hong Kong 14th, China 17th, India 57th.
But many debate whether China and India can really innovate?
Issues to think about:
democracy and innovation -- can authoritarian regimes be as innovative as democracies?
international partnerships -- between different companies, and between universities and companies -- are very common in successful innovation cases. But trust is essential. Can sufficient trust exist between organisations in democracies and those in authoritarian regimes?
Show Youtubes on innovation in China. Many question China's capacity to innovate. And yet companies like Alibaba are proving to be very successful.
It is never too early to become an innovation nation, and India is making great progress, especially in the IT area. And India has its own brand of innovation, known as "frugal innovation".
India's creative and innovative spirit are also evident in its leadership of international cricket, through the Indian Premier League, and also in India's very successful film industry, "Bollywood".
To succeed at innovation, requires an "innovation ecosystem" including public R&D expenditure, incentives for corporate R&D, open competitive economy, finance for innovation, risk-taking environment, education etc.
REFERENCES:
- Asia’s Stunted Economic Development. Asian Century...on a Knife-edge
- Global Innovation Index 2018.
- Designed in China: Can China innovate?
- China's challenge: Moving from copier to innovator
- Alibaba Counters the Myth That China Can’t Innovate
- Can Innovation Save China?
- India : Universe of frugal innovation - #DownToEarth (up to 6 minutes)
- Accenture Opens Groundbreaking Innovation Hub in Bengaluru
- The business of India's multibillion-dollar cricket league
- Bollywood VS Hollywood - Everything You Need To Know