Abstract:    Innovation is the primary driving force for development. In the past 40 years, a large number of China′s latecomer firms have risen rapidly. While improving their market position and technological strength, they have realized the transformation from latecomer to leader. However, at the same time, the fact that most of the core technologies of China′s latecomer firms are controlled by others has not been fundamentally changed, and many China′s latecomer firms are still at the middle or low end of the global value chain. Under this background, how to choose the best time to catch up, how to avoid the catching-up trap and how to reconfigure the capability in the process of catching up have been the focus of the academia and the industry.
    Previous studies have shown that timing choice and capability reconfiguration play an important role in the catch-up process of latecomer firms. However, there are some deficiencies in the studies of scholars in the following aspects: lack of deeper microscopic deconstruction of timing choice, lack of detailed research on catching-up trap, and lack of theoretical matching between capability reconfiguration and catching-up trap. Based on the above recognition, this paper will discuss the problem of China′s latecomer firms catching-up from three perspectives: timing choice, catching-up trap and capability reconfiguration. By analyzing the success and failure of a chip company in the past 15 years, this paper makes an in-depth study of how China′s latecomer firms choose the right time to catch up, how to identify the catch-up traps and how to reconfigure their capabilities in the process of catching up. Considering that the existing literature lacks systematic theoretical support for the above research problems, we adopt the exploratory case study scheme. We hope to enrich the existing theoretical system with the help of the research and discussion of relevant issues, and at the same time, provide some experience and reference for China′s latecomer firms.
    It is found that market timing choice, technology timing choice and industry timing choice play an important role in the rapid development of latecomer firms. Among them, market timing is closely related to market demand gap, market stratification structure. The larger the market demand gap and the clearer the market stratification structure are, the more favorable it will be for latecomer firms to carry out catching-up work. Technical timing is closely related to technology update rate, technology acquisition cost. The faster the technology update rate is, the lower the technology acquisition cost will be, the more favorable it will be for latecomer firms to carry out catching-up work. Industrial timing is closely related to industrial division system, internal knowledge flow. The more perfect the industrial division system is and the faster the internal knowledge flow is, the more favorable it will be for latecomer firms to carry out catching-up work.
   The research also finds that organizational inertia trap, innovation paradigm trap and brand low-end trap are the main reasons for latecomer firms to catch up with the failure. Among them, organizational inertia mainly comes from the behavioral inertia and cognitive inertia in the decision-making process of latecomer firms. The trap of innovation paradigm mainly comes from the ignorance of technological innovation in the process of catching up and the inability to realize effective collaboration between different innovation paradigms. The brand low-end trap mainly comes from the user demand lock formed by the long-term focus on the low-end market, as well as the lack of strategic planning and maintenance of high-end brands.
    In order to avoid the above traps, latecomer firms need to seek corresponding countermeasures from the aspects of organizational capability reconfiguration, innovation capability reconfiguration and brand capability reconfiguration. Among them, organizational capability reconfiguration emphasizes that latecomer firms should improve the organizational dual learning capability (especially exploratory learning capability) by creating an environment and atmosphere conducive to learning, so as to overcome the behavioral inertia and cognitive inertia in the decision-making process. The reconfiguration of innovation capability emphasizes the improvement of latecomer firms in technology innovation through the realization of effective collaboration between different innovation paradigms and more diversified technology acquisition approaches. The reconfiguration of brand capability emphasizes that latecomer firms should not only formulate effective brand positioning strategy, but also construct efficient brand management system in the process of catching up with latecomer firms, so as to realize the transformation of brand from low-end to high-end.
    The above research firstly deconstructs the theoretical black box of catching-up timing of latecomer firms from the micro level, which provides a reasonable theoretical support for explaining the rapid development of latecomer firms in the early stage. Secondly, it analyzes the reasons for the failure of latecomer firms to catch up, and interprets and refines various traps in the process of catching up, which can provide theoretical foundation for the follow-up empirical research. Finally, the specific dimensions of latecomer firms′ capability reconfiguration under the framework of catching-up are defined, and a complete closed-loop theoretical system is formed by establishing the logical connection between capability reconfiguration and catching-up trap. Practical significance: on the one hand, with the continuous improvement of market position and technical strength, it has become an irresistible trend for China′s latecomer firms to transform from latecomer to leaders. In this context, how to identify opportunities and choose the best timing to catch up has become the most urgent problem facing China′s latecomer firms. The exploration and analysis of market timing, technology timing and industry timing in this paper can provide feasible experience and reference for China′s latecomer firms. On the other hand, due to the long process of catching up, the analysis and interpretation of organizational inertia trap, innovation paradigm trap and brand low-end trap in this paper will help China′s latecomer firms to be more vigilant and reduce the risk of catching-up failure. In addition, targeted discussions on organizational capability reconfiguration, innovation capability reconfiguration and brand capability reconfiguration can also provide theoretical guidance and inspiration for China′s latecomer firms to focus on capability reconfiguration and avoid the catching-up trap.

Key words:  latecomer firm, timing choice, catching-up trap, capability reconfiguration