The decentralization of R&D in Chinese corporation and regional agglomerations of R&D: An empirical study in Beijing

The paper addresses two interrelated issues to analyze the recent phenomena of 'Beijingnalization of R&D' which are the decentralization of R&D and regional agglomerations of R&D. Three types of motivations are concluded to describe the determinant of decentralization of R&D. On a micro level, 'locational decision model of decentralized R&D units of corporation' (LDM) is offered to help the mother corporations in locational decision of their decentralized R&D units. On a meso level, a 'regional attraction model of host region to its R&D affiliates' (RAM) is proposed to assess the regional attraction to the decentralized R&D units. Beijing City as host region and its R&D affiliates are chosen as research objects. Results support that a region with technology advancement and clusters of specific industry will attract more decentralized R&D affiliates. The evaluation of the attraction of Beijing shows that it is relatively attractive to the decentralized R&D units, while it has its own advantages and disadvantages. The government should pay more attention to improve the industrialization capabilities of Beijing and to establish more attractive innovation policies.