WHEN IS FREQUENT FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT NECESSARY IN INNOVATION? A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TWO DISTRIBUTED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

This paper combines the concept of technological modularity from the product-development literature with the concept of brokers from literature about communities of practice to explain why some innovation project teams require frequent face-to-face interactions to efficiently co-create new technologies, whereas others do not. The explanation is explored through a comparative case-study analysis of two distributed product-development projects in the European software and telecommunications industries. These case-study projects traversed several geographical sites in Norway, Germany, Greece, England and the Netherlands as well various communities of practice related to a number of distinct technological specialisations. The method involved participative observations and 40 in-depth interviews with key project members, managers and consultants.     

技术创新中路径依赖的成因及破解分析

技术创新作为一种重要的竞争策略,已经日益受到企业的重视。然而,由于路径依赖现象的存在,新技术的推广活动在市场上面临着巨大的阻力和挑战。本文通过对路径依赖产生的原因进行分析,认为正是由于转换成本和网络效应的存在导致了路径依赖的出现。转换成本的存在虽然导致了路径依赖或锁定现象的出现,但这种锁定是有限度的,在很多情况下网络效应起到了更为重要的决定作用。在网络效应的影响下,市场容易表现出正反馈的特点：如果一种技术在市场上建立起来的安装基础具有相对优势,就有可能使市场选择向有利于自己的方向发展,从而限制其它技术的市场份额。因此,一项技术创新能否取代旧技术,关键在于用户规模能否达到所需的临界容量。根据路径依赖的形成特点,本文提出了几种破解路径依赖的有效途径：大幅度提高技术水平,采取技术兼容策略和尽快达到临界容量。     

Localized technological change and factor markets: constraints and inducements to innovation

The recent advances in the economics of innovation and the analysis of how composition effects influence the introduction of technological change in a global economy, characterized by the variety of production functions in use and different local factor markets, provide new strength to the induced innovation approach. Developing the localized technological change approach, it is argued that because there are irreversibilities, limited knowledge and local learning, the introduction of new technologies is induced by the disequilibrium conditions brought about in each system by all changes in relative factor prices. The direction of technological change in terms of its specific form of bias and how it is introduced and adopted, however, reflects the specific conditions of local factor markets. Well-defined long-term technological paths emerge in each region and they depend on the selection process in product markets. The more rigid and idiosyncratic, the endowment of production factors and the system of relative prices are, the more specific the technological path of each region is likely to be. The divide between the microeconomic and the macroeconomic models of induced technological change is reconciled.     

专利家族视角下技术演化路径依赖研究——以光刻技术为例

以专利家族为研究视角,阐述技术路径动态演化过程中的路径依赖。专利家族自引会对技术主路径造成干扰,通过对主路径进行调整,提出一种修正技术主路径的新思路。研究发现：光刻技术在“投影对准和曝光系统—浸没式投影物镜—浸没式光刻材料—光刻胶”4个阶段经历了“路径消解—路径产生与路径依赖—路径消解与突破”的动态演化过程。在此过程中,以荷兰阿斯麦、德国蔡司和日本东京电子为代表的专利家族发挥重要作用。其中,以阿斯麦为核心的利益联盟垄断核心技术,强化光刻技术发展的路径依赖作用,占据市场领先地位。研究结论有助于深化对路径依赖理论的认知,通过揭示光刻技术路径演化过程及企业演化格局,为后发国家突破技术路径依赖提供实践启示。     

Geographic concentration of innovative activities in Germany

The geographic concentration of industries has attracted much attention in recent economic and geographic literature. One mechanism employed to explain the emergence and comparative advantage of industrial agglomerations is based on the relationship between industrial agglomeration and local knowledge production and diffusion, and the resulting innovation activities. This paper analyses this relationship by identifying geographic concentrations of innovation activities and examining different causes for the emergence of these concentrations. The paper applies different concentration measures to patent data for German regions. We analyse 43 technological fields separately to identify which of these technologies tend to cluster in geographic space. The results are discussed in light of theoretical predictions of why specific technological fields concentrate while others do not. These explanations include the concentration of industrial activities, the role of dominant firms, dependence on scientific knowledge, and local interactions.     

Conditions For Successful Technology Policy In Developing Countries—Learning Rents,State Structures,And Institutions

The paper develops an analysis of the economic, political, and institutional conditions for successful design and implementation of technology policy in developing countries. After a brief introduction (Section I), we discuss contending economic theories of technological change and technology policy (Section 2). It is concluded that, despite many pro-market arguments, market imperfections inherent in the process of technological change make the creation of learning and innovation rents by the state potentially very beneficial, especially in developing countries. The next section (Section 3) analyses the political and institutional factors that determine how effectively such rents can be created and managed. After an assessment of technology policy record in developing countries (Section 4) we discuss how the scope of such policy is affected by the recent changes in domestic and international policy contexts such as domestic deregulation and the emergence of a ‘liberal’ world order represented by the WTO (Section 5). The paper ends with a brief conclusion (Section 6).     

基于产业创新系统的中、印、日技术赶超案例分析

通过回顾产业创新系统理论的研究文献,发现可将影响产业技术赶超路径的因素分为3个层面——知识技术、参与主体以及制度法规。结合产业技术赶超的作用路径,构建了机制模型,并以印度制药产业、中国生物产业、日本电子产业为例展开分析。结果表明:不同产业对知识技术投入、参与主体协同、制度法规制定的倚重程度不同;只有根据各产业的特点来选择技术赶超路径,才能充分发挥产业创新系统的驱动作用,实现技术赶超。     

Corporate Investment and Information Technologies: The Case of the Greek Refining Industry

The need to improve competitiveness and the enforcement of stringent environmental regulations created the need for the technological modernization of the Greek oil refining industry. The emphasis in this paper is on the pattern of investment decisions, the linkages between the acquisition of production processes and supporting IT applications and on the influence exercised by new technological investment projects on the availability of endogenous resources required to facilitate the adoption of technical change at the firm level. The Greek experience suggests that the role of IT application is becoming increasingly important in large-scale investment projects. The successful implementation of these projects depends, to a large extent, on the learning processes and the accumulation of knowledge at the firm level. These learning processes are directly linked to the specific requirements of the production process and our evidence support that there is a lack of positive feedback between administrative applications and the successful introduction of new manufacturing technologies.     

Corporate Investment and Information Technologies: The Case of the Greek Refining Industry

The need to improve competitiveness and the enforcement of stringent environmental regulations created the need for the technological modernization of the Greek oil refining industry. The emphasis in this paper is on the pattern of investment decisions, the linkages between the acquisition of production processes and supporting IT applications and on the influence exercised by new technological investment projects on the availability of endogenous resources required to facilitate the adoption of technical change at the firm level. The Greek experience suggests that the role of IT application is becoming increasingly important in large-scale investment projects. The successful implementation of these projects depends, to a large extent, on the learning processes and the accumulation of knowledge at the firm level. These learning processes are directly linked to the specific requirements of the production process and our evidence support that there is a lack of positive feedback between administrative applications and the successful introduction of new manufacturing technologies.     

路径依赖对公司数字创业的抑制及免疫机制研究

路径依赖是在位企业实现数字创业面临的必然挑战，而对企业如何有效利用内外部资源克服路径依赖，现有研究并未形成明确的观点。基于组织免疫理论，遵循抑制—免疫分析思路，从战略联盟和资源拼凑内外视角探究公司数字创业中克服路径依赖的免疫机制。实证结果表明，路径依赖对公司数字创业具有显著抑制作用；战略联盟与资源拼凑均能够对路径依赖的抑制作用产生免疫效应，但针对路径依赖的3个表现维度，战略联盟与资源拼凑发挥的免疫效应存在显著差异。     

Restructuring in the British Construction Industry: Implications of Recent Changes in Project Management and Technology

Theoretical and policy treatments of the processes and management of innovation in construction have neglected the complexity of the social practices in construction and the new conflicts between the parties that may arise from the introduction of organizational and technological change. Based on extensive interviews with contractors, consultants, suppliers and developers, this paper shows that new developments in project management and technologies have not eliminated the adversarial relations associated with the traditional contracting system but have created the potential for new conflicts in the construction sector that might affect innovation adversely. These problems may be further exacerbated by the impacts of these changes on skills and employment conditions in the construction industry. It is argued that these new conflicts suggest the need for research and policy initiatives to move beyond stylized generalizations of the industry.     

Adoption of navigation technologies: Five historical and contemporary cases

Five navigation technologies are studied with the aim of discovering why some of them have more difficulties and take longer time than the others to develop and reach the users. The case histories of their development are presented and compared according to their technological antecedents, their applications and the organizations involved. The analysis shows that multiple stakeholders with different agendas coupled with technological uncertainties and ambiguities have a negative impact on adoption. It also shows that entrepreneurs can play a significant role in accelerating the diffusion of technological innovations if the technological system allows for the parallel development of complements or new markets. The paper also highlights the need for deeper understanding of how complex products and systems should be managed in an environment marked by interconnectedness and multiple influential stakeholders.     

Lock-in and path dependence: an evolutionary approach to eco-innovations

The article presents an overview of the evolutionary approach to eco-innovations with particular emphasis on the role of lock-in and path dependence. In doing so, it focuses on the processes of radical change and the transition of technological systems that require the co-evolution of technology, firms, institutions and the society as a whole. Starting from clarifying the different notions of eco-innovations used in the literature, the article discusses the issues of lock-in and path dependence, by investigating the technological, organizational, institutional and social processes that strengthen as well as weaken path dependence. To this aim, it draws upon the evolutionary literature and discusses the relevance of path dependence and lock-in processes to understand the development of eco-innovations.     

The impact of technology and trade upon the returns to education and occupation

This paper considers how technological change and globalization has influenced the return to education and occupation in Great Britain over the period 1973 to 1994. A number of papers in the literature have documented increasing demand for individuals who possess higher skill endowments than their peers. Both education and occupation can be interpreted as an individual's observable skills and how technology and trade have actually influenced returns to different educational and occupational levels is something that has not been investigated in Great Britain. For the empirical analysis estimates are based upon pooled cross sections over time and also pseudo panel techniques to control for unobservable heterogeneity.     

Restructuring in the British Construction Industry: Implications of Recent Changes in Project Management and Technology

Theoretical and policy treatments of the processes and management of innovation in construction have neglected the complexity of the social practices in construction and the new conflicts between the parties that may arise from the introduction of organizational and technological change. Based on extensive interviews with contractors, consultants, suppliers and developers, this paper shows that new developments in project management and technologies have not eliminated the adversarial relations associated with the traditional contracting system but have created the potential for new conflicts in the construction sector that might affect innovation adversely. These problems may be further exacerbated by the impacts of these changes on skills and employment conditions in the construction industry. It is argued that these new conflicts suggest the need for research and policy initiatives to move beyond stylized generalizations of the industry.     

技术跨越：环境友好型技术发展中的路径依赖与路径创造

路径依赖与路径创造在实现技术跨越的过程中是相伴生的。通过探讨环境友好型技术在实现技术跨越中存在的路径依赖现象,分析环境友好型技术的开发如何实现路径创造,指出了环境友好型技术在实现技术跨越中要注意的一些问题。     

Shadows of the past: path dependence of TV on its sub-systems,complements and substitutes

In this study, two levels of path dependence in the television technological system are examined: (1) How does the development of television (TV) core components affect the development of peripheral components? and (2) How does the development of complementary and substitute technologies affect the development of television technology? Results from the empirical analysis using patents from 1975 to 2004 indicate that: (a) the development of TV periphery technologies is path-dependent on the development of TV core technologies and (b) even after controlling for its own prior history, the development of the TV system is path-dependent on the development of its complementary technologies. However, there is weak evidence of the path dependence of the TV system on the development of its substitute technologies.     

Managing technological and social uncertainties of innovation: The evolution of Brazilian energy and agriculture

This paper explores how technological, commercial and social uncertainties shaped the development of Brazilian biofuels. Technological innovation allowed the country to emerge as a global leader, but Brazil continues to struggle with major social uncertainties due to poverty and environmental concerns common in many emerging economies. Contemporary approaches to development within the innovation literature focus primarily on overcoming technological and commercial uncertainties, but only peripherally explore social uncertainties. To fill this void, we draw on Martin and Hall's framework for managing innovative uncertainties, which is based on Kuhn and Popper's approaches to the evolution and methodology of science, and extend it with Aldrich and Fiol's concept of cognitive versus socio-political legitimacy. Based on qualitative data collected in Brazil, we outline the evolution of automotive fuel ethanol and flex-fuel technology, the development of Brazilian soybean production, and castor for socially inclusive biodiesel production. We show how innovation solved some technological and commercial uncertainties and generated new opportunities, but also created additional social uncertainties that are now being addressed. Through this process, Brazil has acquired capabilities in alternative energy technologies and more sustainable agriculture, becoming an exemplar for other emerging economies. We conclude with implications for policy and industry.     

Energy sector in transition—technologies and regulatory policies in flux

A transition of the energy sector towards a renewable-based system is one of the challenges that results from the debate on the global climate problems and diminishing fossil fuels. This will demand access to innovations in energy production technologies and usage. However, policies directly focussing on innovation and diffusion of new technologies are losing ground. Policy discussions have been dominated by the liberalisation of energy markets and the introduction of new economic instruments all over Europe. Whether this delegation of responsibility for the transition to new economic instruments provides the expected innovations is questionable.In Europe, Denmark has served as an example country being one of the front runners in the development of energy technologies based on renewable sources, especially wind turbines. But also in Denmark policy preferences have changed from the support for technological innovation and implementation to support for delegating responsibility to a market for green energy and CO₂ certificate trading.The different policy regimes marking this change are analysed concerning their ability to support technological innovation. Important elements for the construction and legitimacy of policy regimes comes from academic disciplines involved in policy design. The analysis highlights the basic arguments and the type of knowledge involved and indicates some of the limitations in the measures' ability to solve the problems delegated to them. Experience thus far provides little if any evidence that simple, market-based models can facilitate the need for future energy technology innovations in a satisfactory way, which leads to a need for more complex and heterogeneous sets of measures.     

Public research intensity and the structure of German R&D networks: a comparison of 10 technologies

A rich literature has emerged that analyzes the emergence of inter-organizational networks. However, little is still known about how and why the (global) structures of such networks differ between technologies. Based on a rich database covering subsidized R&D cooperation in Germany, we compare cooperation networks of 10 distinct technologies. A particular focus is hereby on the existence of systematic differences between networks that are dominated by firms and those that primarily connect public research organizations. Among others, we find that the first tend to be larger and less dense with big firms being the most central organizations. In comparison, networks dominated by public actors are stronger centralized and involve more isolates.