Upgrading of Symbolic and Synthetic Knowledge Bases: Evidence from the Chinese Automotive and Construction Industries
研究中国汽车和建筑行业中符号性与合成性知识基础的升级机制，发现项目团队互动与监控主要升级符号性知识，技术转移与干中学则升级合成性知识。
This paper deals with the question of how upgrading of the symbolic and synthetic knowledge bases takes place and, by doing so, we contribute to the upgrading literature by linking upgrading with the concept of the differentiated knowledge bases. We discern a number of upgrading mechanisms, and based on empirical evidence from the construction industry and the automotive industry in China, we show that the main upgrading mechanisms for symbolic knowledge include learning-by-interacting in project teams and monitoring, while upgrading of synthetic knowledge takes place via technology transfer and learning-by-doing and-using. Mobility and on-the-job training and learning in Transnational Corporations are the main upgrading mechanisms contributing to the development of both knowledge bases.