Editorial

Since the late 1970s, China has experienced the most rapid and remarkable industrial development in history. The emergence of China, along with India and some other developing countries, potentially challenges Western hegemony in innovation. These challenges are not only for research institutes and universities, the business sector and government; they are also interesting research questions for students of innovation management and policy. The challenges in the research sector have to be seen in the context of over 20 years of major organizational reform, and a substantial expansion in research investments in the last decade. The challenge for innovation in the business sector lies in how to change the business model from one of imitation to one that is truly innovative. One of the major issues of innovation, which highlights some of the challenges facing business and government, is sustainability. The transformation of innovation in China experienced over the past two decades has resulted from strong political leadership.