Evidence of latecomers' catch-up in CoPS industries: a systematic review

Abstract

There has been a controversial issue in existing literature regarding whether latecomers can catch up in Complex Products and Systems (CoPS) industries. In an attempt to address this issue, we employ systematic review method and analysed 39 previous studies. We found substantial evidences of catch-up or leapfrogging in CoPS industries. The catch-up patterns in the CoPS industries were similar to those in the mass-produced goods sectors. There were 15 success or failure factors for catch-up across CoPS industries, and the top five most frequently appeared factors were government support, technology transfer, in-house R&D, industry ecosystem or cluster, and external alliances.