The Innovation and Catch-up in Platform Economy (ICPE) project aims to examine the key factors that drive technological innovation and catch-up of world-leading technology companies from developing countries in the digital sector. It will also investigate how the ecosystems used by the digital platforms are developed through innovation strategies. There will be a particular focus on analyzing the lessons that can be learnt from the experiences of innovative Chinese platform companies, to better understand their successes in technological catch-up, internal R&D management, product innovation, and ecosystem development, for example, Tencent. Both quantitative methods and qualitative interviews will be used in the analysis of related research questions. The findings of the study will contribute to our understanding of innovation strategy and R&D management in internet companies, especially in effective digital product innovation, value creation and capturing through the innovative application of basic technology and innovation empowered ecosystem development, and the role of social impact-orientation in driven inclusive innovation. The results of the study should provide valuable managerial insights, and suggest policy implications for other businesses that are latecomers in this field, in both the developing and developed countries.

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