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2026/2027  KAN-CCBLO1802U  New Frontiers or More of the Same: Understanding Innovation in Asian Emerging Economies

English Title
New Frontiers or More of the Same: Understanding Innovation in Asian Emerging Economies

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory (also offered as elective)
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for Global Business and Politics
Programme Master of Science in Business, Language and Culture
Course coordinator
  • Sasha Maher - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Globalisation and international business
  • Innovation
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 29-06-2026

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Demonstrate an understanding of what innovation is, why it is important and how it happens in practice
  • Discuss examples from South Korea, Taiwan, and China of how latecomer firms learned and accessed the foreign knowledge base required to build innovation capabilities
  • Discuss whether government intervention through industrial policy measures is necessary to support the technological catchup of latecomer firms
  • Explain how the characteristics of technological regimes affect the technological catchup strategies and outcomes of latecomer firms and government industrial policies
Course prerequisites
Students wanting to take this elective should have basic knowledge of economics, business economics, and innovation theories.
Examination
New Frontiers or More of the Same: Understanding Innovation in Asian Emerging Economies:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance, see also the rules about examination forms in the programme regulations.
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 3 pages
Assignment type Synopsis
Release of assignment Subject chosen by students themselves, see guidelines if any
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Summer
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

At the exam start, students will receive a list of questions through Digital Exam. They must choose one of the questions to answer. The written assignment is considered an analytical argumentative essay, drawing only on the course literature in the syllabus.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

In this course students study the concept of innovation in greater depth and the role that it has played in the economic development of Asian countries in the past and the present. Students will discuss the difference between imitation and innovation but also the blurred boundaries between the two. They will also examine how innovation happens and the different roles of firms and governments. Lastly, the course will also consider how innovation in firms and national economies interact with global economic dynamics, multinational corporations and transnational technical communities and the transfer of knowledge through the migration of people.

 

The first lectures will introduce students to the main themes and theoretical concepts in the economics of innovation literature. Then main part of the course will then look at specific country experiences ranging from the economic catch-up experiences of Northeast Asian countries South Korea and Taiwan to the latest catch-up effort of China. The course will also examine innovation in specific industries such as semiconductors, software, renewable energy and electric vehicles.
Research-based teaching
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
  • Classic and basic theory
  • New theory
  • Methodology
Research-like activities
  • Data collection
  • Analysis
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
Description of the teaching methods
Each class consists of three 45 minute sessions.
The course is designed to be interactive with extensive 'hands-on' engagement with the course material. Thus, the classes are primarily organized around group discussions and student presentations, interspersed with interactive lecturing.
Feedback during the teaching period
Giving feedback and receiving feedback is an important part of the course design therefore students must be prepared to seek and receive feedback from the resource person.
Student workload
Lectures 30 hours
Preparation and exam 176 hours
Total 206 hours
Further Information

Minor changes may occur to this course description until 30 June.

Expected literature

In this course, students will read 4 books:

Linsu Kim, 1997, Imitation to Innovation: The dynamics of Korea’s technological learning, Harvard Business School Press.

John Mathews and Dong-Sung Cho, 2000, Tiger technology: The creation of a semiconductor industry in East Asia, Cambridge University Press.

AnnaLee Saxenian, 2006, The New Argonauts: Regional advantage in a global economy, Harvard University Press.

Keun Lee, 2021, China’s technological leapfrogging and economic catch-up: A Schumpeterian perspective, Oxford University Press.
Last updated on 29-06-2026