Historical review and experience enlightenment of technological innovation in China’s iron and steel industry: a case study of ansteel

Studying the historical processes of technology development is important as a means of learning about technologies in some historical periods and identifying the roots of existing tendencies. In this research, Ansteel, a large-scale state-owned company in China, is selected as the research object to investigate its technological development process using a qualitative historical case study methodology [40]. Drawing on theoretical frameworks including Porter’s Market-Based View [24, 25] Barney’s Resource-Based View [2] Teece et al.’s Dynamic Capabilities [31] Cohen and Levinthal’s Absorptive Capacity [4] and Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations [28] the study analyses six distinct periods in Ansteel’s development from 1918 to the present. It discusses the production equipment for the technological processes involved, innovative subjects for system and management strategies, and notes down the innovation path of Ansteel. These studies suggest that before the formation of the People’s Republic of China, Japan’s ownership over iron ore locations in Anshan, Benxi and the rest of the Iron Belt significantly slowed China’s steel industry technological development. After the founding of the People’s Republic, Ansteel’s technological development approach of introducing, digesting, absorbing, and re-adapting Soviet iron and steel technologies witnessed a massive burst of large-scale technological improvement, exemplifying the Absorptive Capacity construct. Since the start of the reform and opening up, Ansteel has transformed from a mode follower to a mode pioneer in the aspect of core technologies, greatly strengthening its innovation intensity and producing spectacular results. The study concludes that the iron and steel industry should never stop innovating, should continuously absorb and re-innovate externally acquired technologies, and should adapt to the principles of sustainable development and digitalization.