International experience in the development of "specialized, special and new" enterprises

From the perspective of growth path, most of the "specialized, special and new" related enterprises in Germany, Japan and South Korea first have core technology and take it as a core competitive advantage to stand out in the market competition. On the basis of core technology, most of these enterprises are deeply involved in a specific field, establish long-term cooperation with the downstream of the industrial chain, further bind customers through cooperative research and development, and form an irreplaceable "moat".

"Specialization, refinement and novelty" enterprises are an important part of China's industrial chain strengthening and complementation, and also an important pillar of China's industrial development and scientific and technological innovation. How to promote the growth of "specialization, refinement and novelty", the development of relevant enterprises in Germany, Japan, South Korea and other countries has provided us with experience and reference.

"Specialization, refinement, uniqueness and novelty" mainly refers to the specialization, refinement, uniqueness and novelty of SMEs. Since it was proposed in 2011, the development of "specialized, special and new" enterprises in China has achieved remarkable results. As of September 2022, four batches of specialized, special and new "small giant" enterprises have been cultivated, 8997 national specialized, special and new "small giant" enterprises have been cultivated, and nearly 50000 provincial "specialized, special and new" SMEs have been driven.

(Data pictures are for reference only)

In addition to the classification of "specialized, special and new" enterprises proposed by China, many countries have also proposed a classification for innovative SMEs or core enterprises in market segments in the international scope. Germany's "invisible champion", Japan's "high-yield enterprises", South Korea's "strong small enterprises" and "backbone enterprises" are highly similar in characteristics and overlap in scope with China's "specialized, special and new" enterprises. Their development history, main characteristics, effectiveness and experience have certain reference significance for the cultivation of China's "specialized, special and new" enterprises.

German "invisible champion" was proposed by Herman Simon, an economist, in 1986. It refers to small and medium-sized enterprises that have a leading edge in an unknown field. According to Simon's research, Germany leads the world in the number of "invisible champions". The selection of Japanese "global high niche" enterprises began in 2013, and 100 enterprises with advantages in the global niche market were selected, and the successful experience of promoting these enterprises was summarized. In South Korea, "backbone enterprises" refer to "enterprises that are in the transition period between small and medium-sized enterprises and large enterprises, and have a certain scale, innovation ability and great development potential". "Strong small enterprises" refer to "enterprises that have strong competitiveness in the business field among small and medium-sized backbone enterprises, and have the potential to lead the market in China and the world". These "specialized, special and new" related enterprises have different focuses. Germany's "invisible champion" focuses on ranking high in the subdivided fields, Japan's "global strong small enterprises" focus on profitability, strategy, competitive advantage and internationalization, and South Korea's "backbone enterprises" need to meet one of the sales, enterprise size or independence standards.

Although there are many differences and different names among the "specialized, special and new" related enterprises in Germany, Japan, South Korea and other countries, these enterprises are similar in technology research and development, professional level, profitability, growth, corporate culture and other aspects, which is also a significant feature of the "specialized, special and new" enterprises. In terms of specialization, these enterprises seldom carry out cross-border operations, but focus on a specific segment, providing products and services to more fixed customers all the year round. In the field of technology, most of these enterprises focus on technology research and development, and expand the market by mastering the core technology of key links. In terms of profitability, these enterprises generally have high profit margins due to their mastery of core technology, which supports further research and development of enterprises. At the same time, due to the stable personnel structure and continuous innovation, most enterprises have a more recognized corporate culture.

From the perspective of growth path, most of the "specialized, special and new" related enterprises in Germany, Japan and South Korea first have core technology and take it as a core competitive advantage to stand out in the market competition. On the basis of core technology, most of these enterprises are deeply involved in a specific field, establish long-term cooperation with the downstream of the industrial chain, further bind customers through cooperative research and development, and form an irreplaceable "moat". In order to solve the problem of narrow market scope, "specialized, special and new" related enterprises mostly expand the market through international strategy, improve the profit level, so as to support R&D and further open the growth space.

The growth experience of Germany, Japan, South Korea and other countries' "invisible champions", "high-yield enterprises", "strong small enterprises" and "core enterprises" can draw some enlightenment:

First, the industrial development trend has created a huge external demand for the growth of "specialized, special and new" enterprises. A considerable number of enterprises have developed with the transformation or take-off of their own industries. Some of these enterprises have formed core products through technological innovation, and some have achieved import substitution through absorption and improvement, thus embedding themselves into the core supply chain of industrial development. For China, in recent years, the development trend of emerging industries represented by new energy, new materials, and new generation information technology has formed, which has brought huge market space to "specialized, special and new" enterprises and created demand in many key fields, which will create good conditions for the growth of "specialized, special and new" enterprises in China.

Second, mastering key core technologies and maintaining sustainable innovation is the internal driving force for the development of "specialized, special and new" enterprises. The key core technology determines the market position of enterprises. Most of the "specialized, special and new" enterprises master the core technology, and influence the industry standard through the core technology, forming the industry voice. According to Simon's statistics, 85% of the "invisible champion" business managers believe that technology leadership is the most important symbol of an enterprise, followed by quality leadership, popularity, product range width and reputation. Most Japanese "global high profit base enterprises" attach importance to generating high value-added products through continuous innovation. While mastering the core technology, the "specialized, special and new" enterprises also need to maintain the continuous innovation ability, continue to research and develop new products after having the first product, and maintain the profit rate of the enterprise in the industry, so as to have enough R&D funds to carry out product and technology innovation, thus forming a virtuous circle.

Third, "long-term principle" is the long-term driving force for the development of "specialized, special and new" enterprises. The "specialized, special and new" enterprises need to have a long-term vision of development, focus production and R&D on the overall pattern of industry development and future technology, and constantly maintain the leading edge in the industry. At the same time, it operates in a long-term development attitude, is not affected by short-term factors, maintains long-term cooperative relations with suppliers, establishes long-term orders and cooperation with customers, and establishes long-term strategies for future development. Due to the nature of family business, Germany's "invisible champion" creates a family like atmosphere within the enterprise, formulates long-term development strategies that are not affected by short-term situations, and establishes long-term stable relations with employees and suppliers.

China is currently facing the pressure of trade friction and global inflation, and is in the critical period of implementing the new development concept and building a double cycle. We need to further encourage the development of "specialized, special and new" enterprises, strengthen the chain and supplement the chain. We need a more sound support system and more effective support measures. We can start from the following aspects to support and help "specialized, special and new" enterprises Enterprise growth.

First, improve the laws, regulations and support policies for SMEs. The supporting measures for "specialized, special and new" enterprises are fixed through legislation, and legal guarantees are established and put into place around financing, innovation, talent training, informatization and other aspects to promote the development of small, medium-sized and micro enterprises. Drawing on the development experience of Japan, South Korea and other countries, we will increase government investment and government guidance in enterprise related services, enterprise technology innovation, intellectual property protection, international market development and other aspects, and the relevant policies will favor "specialized, special and new" enterprises. Learn from Germany's policy preference for small and medium-sized enterprises in economically backward areas in terms of entrepreneurship, technological innovation, finance and taxation, and explore more preferential "specialized, special and new" enterprise support policies for economically backward areas in China.

Second, we should explore ways to foster "specialized and innovative" enterprises through major national special plans. Focusing on the national key research and development plan, we investigated and tracked the enterprises with unique technology products, strong growth potential and great development potential, kept abreast of technology progress in time, promoted the industrial application of technological achievements, created space for enterprise growth, and cultivated and selected backup forces for "specialized, special and new" enterprises.

Third, increase financial support for "specialized, special and new" enterprises. The problem of imperfect financing system, single financing channel and small proportion of financing for SMEs in China has become an important obstacle to the development of "specialized, special and new" enterprises. It is necessary to solve the financing problem of "specialized, special and new" enterprises in various ways. First, give full play to the advantages of policy based financial institutions, improve the credit guarantee system for "specialized, special and new" enterprises, and improve the quality of credit guarantee. Secondly, explore the establishment of national and local "specialized, special and new" enterprise guidance funds, and make equity investment in the core enterprises and core technologies evaluated. At the same time, it is necessary to further improve the construction of multi-level capital market, get through the "pain points" of financing of "specialized, special and new" enterprises, and provide more convenient financial services for "specialized, special and new" enterprises.

Fourth, encourage "specialized, special and new" enterprises to deepen cooperation with the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, pay attention to customer needs, and establish a product development mechanism for joint research and development with customers. The interaction frequency between most Chinese SMEs and customers is insufficient, and it is difficult to understand the changes in customer needs in a timely manner. Our "specialized, special and new" enterprises also need to grasp the changes of customer needs more timely, establish a mechanism for communication and interaction with customers, form a working atmosphere and development mechanism for cooperative research and development, comprehensively consider customer needs in product development and technology upgrading, constantly optimize the direction of research and development, understand customer needs as quickly as possible, and reduce transaction costs and risks of both parties.

Fifth, the development of "specialized, special and new" enterprises should speed up the digital transformation and promote the process of industrial digitalization. The digital transformation of China's "specialized, special and new" SMEs still needs to be improved. Some enterprises still have problems such as weak transformation foundation, insufficient planning, limited talent supply, and data security risks. With the use of new generation information technologies such as 5G and industrial Internet and the development of Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies in China, the infrastructure of enterprise digital transformation will be more perfect, creating good conditions for the digital transformation of "specialized, special and new" enterprises. From the perspective of the enterprise itself, it is necessary to improve the thinking and understanding of digital transformation, improve the top digital architecture of the enterprise, embed digital systems in production, operation, research and development, and conduct data collection, analysis, and governance, so as to help the enterprise improve product quality and production efficiency.

label: International experience