Startup Capitalism: New Approaches to Innovation Strategies in East Asia

In Startup Capitalism, Robyn Klingler-Vidra and Ramon Pacheco Pardo explore the place of startups in contemporary East Asian economies.

The last few decades have seen East Asian governments provide increasing support for startups--new, high-growth, technologically oriented firms. Yet, as the authors observe, such initiatives do not necessarily benefit the growth of startups as challengers to large, established firms. Rather, they often enable startups to function as boosters for the competitiveness of these firms. Startups, in short, are both disruptors to and resources for big businesses.

Klingler-Vidra and Pacheco Pardo demonstrate this dual role by examining the evolution of startup-centric policies in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. They show that in the region, what they call startup capitalism--an economic and political system in which startups contribute to employment, innovation, and growth--can take multiple forms. Rich with empirical detail, Startup Capitalism reveals how and why startups can end up working with--or even for--large firms to drive a country’s technological capabilities.

Robyn Klingler-Vidra is Reader in Entrepreneurship and Sustainability at King’s Business School, King’s College London.

Ramon Pacheco Pardo is Professor of International Relations at King’s College London and the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance of Vrije Universiteit Brussel.