FROM IMITATION TO INNOVATION: A STUDY OF EAST ASIAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

The primary objective of this study is to examine the structural transformation of developing Asian economies within the global trade arena, focusing on their evolution from imitation-based production models into innovative, new product-developing powerhouses. Utilizing annual data spanning the 2005–2024 period, the research empirically analyzes the dynamic effects of Asian countries' digital development, high-technology exports, and R&D expenditures on annual patent applications, which serves as a tangible output of new product development performance. To eliminate the risk of spurious regression common in time-series data, a regression model was estimated using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method based on the first differences of the variables. The empirical findings indicate that the growth rate of high-technology exports has a positive and statistically significant impact on the acceleration of patent registrations (p<0.05$). The analysis reveals that a 1% acceleration in the growth rate of high-technology exports leads to a 1.14% increase in the number of patents. Conversely, while the effect of the growth rate of R&D expenditures on patent productivity is positive, it was found to be statistically insignificant. Conclusively, the study confirms that Asian countries have successfully shifted the product life cycle in their favor through robust digital and technological infrastructure investments, thereby shedding their imitator identity and gaining a sustainable competitive advantage in the global market.