Macro-Contextual Factors Associated with Dominant-Design Formation: Evidence from China’s Electric-Bus Industry

Despite extensive research on firm- and technology-level explanations of dominant-design formation (DDF), less attention has been paid to macro-contextual factors associated with DDF in specific green-technology industries. This study examines the associations among national strategic imperative, industrial policy, market competition, and DDF within China’s electric-bus industry. Using cross-sectional questionnaire data and structural equation modeling, the study tests theory-derived relationships among these selected constructs in this bounded empirical setting. The results show that respondents’ assessments of national strategic imperative are positively associated with industrial policy and market competition, but are not significantly associated with DDF. Industrial policy is positively associated with market competition and DDF, and market competition is positively associated with DDF. This pattern is consistent with an indirect association between national strategic imperative and DDF through industrial policy and market competition in China’s electric-bus industry. These findings are based on a single cross-sectional, perception-based study and do not establish temporal causality, the long-run historical formation of a dominant design, or relationships that apply uniformly across other industries, countries, or the national economy.