Mapping technological innovations through patent analysis: a case study of foreign multinationals and indigenous firms in China

This study attempts to expand the work on patenting activities of China. The characteristics of foreign multinationals and indigenous entities’ patenting activities in the US patent system are examined in our analysis. This study also attempts to model the diffusion trajectories of patenting activities that result from the functioning of two competing innovation system models adopted by China-FDI and indigenous—to compare the extent of divergence of technological innovations. The findings are useful for highlighting the path of technological innovations and understanding the dynamic potentials through analysis of the growth process. While the results suggest a dominance of foreign firms in patenting activities since the early 2000s, there is a sign of transition from industrial-based to knowledge-driven activities and the formation of evolving propagating behaviour in the production of indigenous technology.