The Influence of Stakeholders on Technology Innovation: A Case Study from China

In recent years, research on technology innovation transformed from stockholder perspective to stakeholder theory. Stakeholders not only affect the survival and development of enterprises, but determine the activities and effectiveness of enterprise´s technology innovation. In order to understand how stakeholders affect the technology innovation and which kind of roles stakeholders play in the innovation process, using case study approach, this paper explored the influence of stakeholders on technology innovation based on Hangyang Group, a large state-owned air separation equipment manufacturing enterprise located in Hangzhou, China. First, we analyzed the basic characteristics of Hangyang technology innovation. Then, we discovered the interactive relationship between stakeholders and technology innovation. And through tracking investigation and analysis of a technology innovation project, Large-scale Ethylene Cold Box Domesticsize project, that had important strategic significance for Hangyang and China, studied the stakeholders´ interactive mechanism and dynamic behaviors based on the innovation processes. Research results indicated that: shareholder, senior manager, staff, user, competitor, government and other stakeholders actually affect development and effectiveness of enterprise technology innovation, and the mode and degree of effects are different among them; at different stages of technology innovation process, the effect of stakeholder also has different characteristics; and the stakeholders also have different benefit request and different realization way in the technology innovation process