Innovations of enterprises with Chinese capital in Poland : LiuGong Dressta Machinery : case study

Modern-day innovations have become a base requirement of civilization progress, a determinant of the socio-economic development of each country or region, as well as the basis for the competitiveness and development of economic entities or organizations.

Research on enterprise innovation in Poland shows inadequate engagement in this type of activity, which results in a poor assessment in innovation rankings, both in the EU and in the whole world alike. At the same time, statistics indicate that enterprises with foreign capital that operate in Poland are characterized by a greater propensity to pursue innovative activities.

Amongst the many economies of the world, which have achieved tremendous progress in the recent years, both in terms of economic development and an increase in the level of innovation, China is commonly indicated as allocating more and more funds to R&D, while raising the quality and innovation of its production.

Account taken of the above, the research problem undertaken by the authors consists in seeking an answer to the question whether the high level of innovative activity recorded in the Chinese economy translates in any way to the innovation of Chinese capital invested in Poland. In view of this, the aim of the research comprises taking an attempt to answer the following research questions: do enterprises that operate in Poland on the basis of Chinese capital conduct innovative activities and how is it directed? This paper discusses the preliminary results of research on the indicated issues, which were carried out by means of a diverse methodology, including, in addition to a critical analysis of the literature, in-depth interviews with experts in the field of China's economic policy and Polish-Chinese cooperation, as well as an analysis of a case study in a selected economic entity with Chinese capital operating in Poland.

The results prove that the examined Chinese capital invested in Poland undertakes innovative activity and treats it as a strategic element of development, as evidenced not only by the implementation of specific types of innovations, but also by the pursue of R&D activities in Poland.

For the sake of completeness of the situation regarding the activity of Chinese capital in the field of innovative activities carried out in Poland, it is required to expand and deepen the scope of research by extending the subjective scope of companies from other sectors of the economy, identifying determinants that shape innovation of this type of investment, or analysis of Chinese business models capital invested in Poland.