Research Networks And Organisational Mobility In An Emerging Technological Field: The Case Of Plant Biotechnology

This paper builds on social network theory to understand technological development. Based on the empirical evidence of 367 research organisations in plant biotechnology over a nineteen-year period, we demonstrate how a structural analysis of the research network within the technological community is used to identify four collaboration-based strategic groups of research organisations. The emergence of these groups can be linked to technological breakthroughs in the field. Analyses of the four clusters point to the influence of research collaborations on stratification within an evolving technological domain. Finally, as archival data sources are used to detect incidences of collaborative research and to trace the evolution of R&D networks in an emerging field, we conclude with a discussion of the potential contribution of bibliometric data to understand the development of new technologies in their early, pre-commercial phases.     

Measurement of level and gap of technological development

In the present world of exponential technological growth, technological cooperation is a major imperative. In selecting optimal partners for technological cooperation, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the levels and gaps of a technology with respect to the cooperating countries/industries/firms. This is because both large and small gaps in technology make cooperation difficult. However, technological cooperation is a viable proposition for partners with moderate gaps, since the benefits would be mutual. Gaps and levels can be measured in an absolute or relative sense, and also in qualitative or quantitative terms. This paper presents procedures for the analysis of levels and gaps with respect to specific technologies. Illustrative examples from selected fields are included. It is hoped that a disaggregated analysis of levels and gaps in terms of the four basic components of technology can give better insights for technology planning.     

Functions of innovation systems as a framework to understand sustainable technological change: Empirical evidence for earlier claims

Understanding the emergence of innovation systems is recently put central in research analysing the process of technological change. Especially the key activities that are important for the build up of an innovation system receive much attention. These are labelled ‘functions of innovation systems’. This paper builds on five empirical studies, related to renewable energy technologies, to test whether the functions of innovation systems framework is a valid framework to analyse processes of technological change. We test the claim that a specific set of functions is suitable. We also test the claim made in previous publications that the interactions between system functions accelerate innovation system emergence and growth. Both claims are confirmed.     

Exploring the market for breakthrough technologies

In this article, the gap between futures research (long term) and market research (short term) is closed in two ways. Firstly, by describing methods of market exploration that can be used earlier on in the process of development and diffusion of breakthrough technologies, so market research can be applied along with futures research. Secondly, the gap is closed by actually combining futures research and market research. We start the article from the perspective of the market research discipline and describe the problems in market research that require new approaches. The validity of market research results is often low when breakthrough technologies enter the market. To investigate this problem, assumptions for valid market research results are presented. In some cases, when breakthrough technologies first enter the market, these assumptions do not hold and market research becomes problematic whereas in other cases customers' needs and preferences are not an issue at all and attention focuses on technological issues. Potential solutions to explore the market in the former cases are suggested. Four approaches are distinguished: (1) adapting existing methods; (2) combining consumer research with market structure analysis or futures research; (3) using theoretic models; and (4) probe and learn approaches. These approaches require different subsets of assumptions and are therefore applicable in different situations.     

人类能走出杰文斯阴影吗？

技术进步与环境改善之间存在着怎样的一种关系？技术悲观主义者和技术乐观主义者正进行着激烈的争论。他们都以翔实的资料为立论论据,把两种截然相反的观点摆在世人面前,现在,我们还不能简单地肯定或者否定某一种观点,因为技术在进步,各种各样的环境问题正在消失或出现,而争论也在继续。     

A Machine Learning Analysis of the Recent Environmental and Resource Economics Literature

We use topic modeling to study research articles in environmental and resource economics journals in the period 2000–2019. Topic modeling based on machine learning allows us to identify and track latent topics in the literature over time and across journals, and further to study the role of different journals in different topics and the changing emphasis on topics in different journals. The most prevalent topics in environmental and resource economics research in this period are growth and sustainable development and theory and methodology. Topics on climate change and energy economics have emerged with the strongest upward trends. When we look at our results across journals, we see that journals have different topical profiles and that many topics mainly appear in one or a few selected journals. Further investigation reveal latent semantic structures across research themes that only the insider would be aware.

     

Limit to improvement: Myth or reality?: Empirical analysis of historical improvement on three technologies influential in the evolution of civilization

The evolution of civilization appears to have primarily resulted from continuous improvement made possible by technological advances. A group of social evolutionists and economists have identified, among others, energy, transport, as well as information and communication to be the three most influential technologies. On the other hand, a number of eminent scholars have cited several forces, natural, physiological, technological, as well as environmental which can place a limit on on-going improvement.The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the continuous improvement process as well as the limit placed on these three technologies. Using the framework of both connected and disconnected multiple technology S-curves and X-factor, historical improvement data on these three elements have been analyzed. The results of our analysis indicate that improvement in general has continued without limit mainly due to a series of emerging new technologies. These emerging technologies can be either connected or disconnected from the existing mature technologies. Our preliminary analysis shows that much of the past improvement comes from new technologies that on first serious application appear to be substantially superior from earlier technologies. In addition, enormous continuous improvement, which has accompanied both connected and disconnected new technologies appear to have played the critical role in sustaining the evolution of civilization. The paper discusses a number of policy implications and suggests topics for future research.     

Investigating the determinants of patent acquisition in biotechnology: an empirical analysis

Acquiring patents is an increasingly relevant opportunity for innovating companies, especially after the rise and development of the so-called markets for technologies (MFTs). However, only scant attention has been devoted to investigate patents' characteristics influencing their acquisition by organisations. Accordingly, this paper aims at filling this gap by analysing how four main characteristics – as patent scope, scientific knowledge cited by the patent, forward patent citations, and number of patent claims – impact the likelihood of patent acquisition. We based our statistical analysis on a sample of 9716 US Patent and Trademark Office patents assigned to 165 biotechnological firms. Results support our conjectures and offer interesting managerial implications for organisations operating within MFTs indicating which characteristics make patented technological solutions more likely to be acquired by other firms, as a narrow scope, inclusion of scientific knowledge, and a number of forward citations able to increase patent's impact and exclusion rights.     

Evaluating the competitiveness of enterprise’s technology based on LDA topic model

ABSTRACT

With the advent of the knowledge economy, technology has become the foundation of advancement for many enterprises. To maintain a lasting competitive edge, enterprises must accurately determine the competitiveness of particular technologies. However, emerging innovations are becoming more and more complex, and interdisciplinary trends complicate matters even further. In the competitiveness evaluation based on patent, traditional patent classifications are both loose and time-sensitive. In this paper, we constructed the evaluation model of enterprise’s technology competitiveness based on the technological topics generated by a latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic model. LDA topic model is able to classify technologies into narrower categories and can, therefore, provide rich information on the competitive landscape of a field. Two indexes are used to determine the technological competitiveness of an enterprise in the model – a specialisation index and a diversification index. At the same time, we explore the distribution of enterprises with different technological topics through the relative share, the technology’s appeal, and the competitive advantage that technology might give an enterprise. The empirical study on intelligent connected vehicles validates the model, and the results provide theoretical support for developing R&D strategies and/or making investment decisions.     

Editor's introduction: Distributional consequences of emerging technologies

Emerging technologies have a great potential to exacerbate inequalities. The papers in this special section represent case studies of the ways five different technologies interacted with particular national contexts to produce distributional effects. A central hypothesis of the study was that the same technological project would have different distributional consequences under different national conditions; this was confirmed. Public interventions shaped the trajectories of the technological project through intellectual property and anti-trust provisions as well as regulations, much more than through the research agenda itself. These technologies were not associated with large gains or losses in jobs, but rather with modest shifts downward in numbers and upwards in skill requirements. Price was not the only determinant of how far the technologies diffused; skills and infrastructure were also important. In sum, distributional consequences take many forms. “Diffusion” consists of both push and pull, need and absorptive capacity. The relevant decision makers are in both the public and private sectors, and a broad range of policies affects this process, not just science, technology, and innovation policies. There are many options for public intervention, but no one size fits all countries.¹     

技术资本：概念辨析、知识结构与分析框架

技术资本是一种新型、独立的资本形态，是技术加速转化为生产力并创造更多价值的重要途径，对加快数字经济发展具有重要意义。在回顾国内外相关研究的基础上，首先拓展技术资本的概念内涵，明确其价值增值的目标属性；然后，运用知识图谱分析方法对技术资本研究的知识结构进行可视化分析，发现现有研究主要形成技术视角、资本视角和技术资本化过程的3种进路；随后，进一步构建一个整合式分析框架，从驱动因素、生成机制、作用机理和影响效果4个方面建立全局性视角，以把握技术资本研究情况；最后，从完善测量方法，探析技术资本与数字经济、数字技术关联等方面提出可行的研究方向。结论有助于阶段性厘清国内外技术资本研究进展，为未来更深入的分析提供参考。     

颠覆性技术关注方向演化研究

关注颠覆性技术创新方向演变对于构建颠覆性技术“发现—遴选—培养”机制，挖掘重大颠覆性技术选题具有重要意义。利用三螺旋协同性测度模型量化政府、产业、学术界3类主体对颠覆性技术关注方向的协同程度，构建颠覆性技术行动者网络，利用社会网络分析法解析网络结构形式下政、产、学三方关注颠覆性技术创新的耦合方向，探究高度耦合技术方向的演化特点。最后，获得技术关注方向协同性、技术关注耦合方向特征、技术关注方向耦合时间时序特征、技术关注方向耦合机构特征、高度耦合技术方向演化特征5个方面的结论。     

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.     

考虑关键核心技术发展的我国集成电路产业政策效力研究

基于专利数据识别集成电路产业关键核心技术，构建技术发展水平评价指标体系并评估关键核心技术发展水平。进一步基于13项关键核心技术对产业政策进行分解匹配，测度各技术环节政策措施间协调度，并实证分析政策措施及其协调度对关键核心技术发展水平的影响。结果表明，我国集成电路产业各关键核心技术差距明显，技术发展水平相对较低；规划引导措施对关键核心技术发展存在显著正向影响，监管认证、税收优惠、规划引导与技术支持措施间协调情况对关键核心技术发展具有显著负向影响，现有金融支持、技术支持措施与其它措施间协调情况较差，不利于关键核心技术发展水平提升。未来政策应鼓励创新主体加大研发投入力度，及时更新监管认证措施并加强对金融支持等措施的监督，为关键核心技术发展提供更强有力的政策保障。     

Industrial innovation and governmental policy: A review and proposal based on observation of the U.S. electronic sector

The U.S. electronics sector has been particularly successful at technological innovation since the 1940s. This paper addresses governmental policies that influence the process of technological innovation, drawing on aspects of the history of the electronics sector. Three topics receive particular attention—(1) uncertainties, ideas, and imperfect appropriability, (2) returns to R&D and associated investments, and (3) competition and selection environments. As a foundation for this discussion, several conceptual frameworks are briefly described and some classifications for innovation are explored, i.e., by importance (basic/improvement), by locus of change (process/product), by area of application (peaceful/dangerous), by locus of choice (private/public), and by value (worthwhile/not worthwhile). The discussion is underscored by the observation that better links between conceptual understanding and policy formulation are needed in order to derive practical insights into useful actions. One specific policy recommendation is tendered: an income tax credit on earnings of all employees (including salaried staff and managers) of R&D intensive firms. Such a policy would be appropriate from the standpoint of the topics outlined above (i.e., uncertainties, returns to R&D, and competition); the policy would also delegate responsibility for effective use of the subsidy to the employees and firms affected and would directly acknowledge and reward the contributions of individuals—whether in R&D, production, marketing, or support areas—to the innovative capabilities of their firms and the society at large.     

Heterogeneity vs. externalities in technological competition: A tale of possible technological landscapes

The article presents a stochastic interaction model based on Gibbs random fields to analyze technological competition in a population of heterogeneous adopters with local or global externalities. The relationships between both heterogeneity and externalities and imperfect and asymmetric information are first emphasized. When local externalities and heterogeneity coexist, the technological landscapes of the industry are then shown to depend on the relative influence of these two parameters, with a phase transition: technologies coexist either in approximately equal market shares when heterogeneity is high enough or with one of the technologies only surviving in technological niches when local externalities dominate. Niches do also spontaneously appear: technological options survive in economic space due to the existence of some amount of heterogeneity among agents. On the contrary, when global externalities are added, pure standardization almost always occurs. We finally argue that different public policies should be designed so as to fit with different technological landscapes.     

When does a developing country use new technologies?

We develop a model of optimal pattern of economic development that is first rooted in physical capital accumulation and then in technical progress. We study an economy where capital accumulation and innovative activity take place within a two sector model. The first sector produces a consumption good using physical capital and non skilled labor. Technological progress in the consumption sector is driven by the research activity that takes place in the second sector. Research activity which produces new technologies requires technological capital and skilled labor. New technologies induce an endogenous increase of the total factor productivity of the consumption sector. Physical and technological capital are not substitutable while skilled and non skilled labor may be substitutable. We show that under conditions about the adoption process of new technologies, the optimal strategy for a developing country consists in accumulating physical capital first; postponing the importation of technological capital to the second stage of development. This result is due to a threshold effect from which new technologies begin to have an impact on the productivity of the consumption sector. However, we show that once a certain level of wealth is reached, it becomes optimal for the economy to import technological capital to produce new technologies. The authors would like to thank the participants to the seminar of GREDEG, especially Richard Arena, Flora Bellone, Jean-Luc Gaffard and Jacques Ravix, and also the participants to a seminar at European University Institute. We are also grateful to the referees for their very thoughtful remarks and criticisms. Cuong Le Van started writing this joint paper with Olivier Bruno and Benoit Masquin in 2005, in GREDEG.     

Is experience a useful resource for business model innovation?

Business model innovation has been proposed as a powerful strategic tool, able to offer competitive advantage, create markets and even reshape industries. Despite these powerful effects, little research has been conducted into studying and improving business model generation methods, and even less study has gone into analysing how to define new business models that can exert a disruptive effect on markets and industries. Our work tries to fill this gap, analysing whether experience encourages or discourages the generation of disruptive business models. An empirical analysis was carried out using an experimental methodology. The results seem to contradict the currently dominant Resource-Based View, but can be explained by the theory on inertia in organisations.     

新兴技术社会风险化解的前瞻性治理特征

新兴技术这柄“双刃剑”虽然给国家带来新发展动能，但也同时引发诸多社会风险，如何化解新兴技术社会风险成为新兴技术治理面临的难题。前瞻性治理研究为新兴技术社会风险化解提供了一些思考，但是相关研究较为分散和模糊，相关经验难以奏效。运用文本分析法和层次分析法，聚焦治理主体、过程和结果3个要素，提炼新兴技术社会风险化解的前瞻性治理特征，并在中国情境下检验其适用性。结果表明，公众参与结果纳入既定政策议程、否决权、新兴技术公众参与法律法规等前瞻性特征得到专家一致认同，认为它们是新兴技术社会风险化解的必要条件。研究结论对提高新兴技术社会风险治理绩效具有一定理论启示。     

An alternative approach to the monitoring of technological diffusion via foreign direct investment: evidence from the Greek manufacturing sector

The existing studies of foreign direct investment and the corresponding technological diffusion process that they generate, focus either on specific parameters of the production process in isolation, or they combine certain parameters to construct indices that are not consistent across studies. The present analysis proposes an alternative approach that captures the entire production process and multinational firms are viewed as the platform that transfers more advanced technologies to the host countries. As multinational firms are able to utilise more efficiently the available production process, an efficiency gap ensues between the domestically owned firms of a country and the multinational firms that operate in it. We capture and provide a measure and a monitoring mechanism of the technological diffusion process via foreign direct investment through the evolution of the efficiency gap between the two groups of firms whilst controlling for other variables that might contribute to such a gap. We apply our approach to the manufacturing sector of the Greek economy that experiences a consistent presence of foreign direct investment inflows over the time period 2001–2007.