Invention and Economic Growth.

Patent indicators for monitoring convergence - examples from NFF and ICT

http://hal.grenoble-em.com/hal-00658727/document

When technological discontinuities and disruptive business models challenge dominant industry logics: Insights from the drugs industry

Patent citations as a tool for analysing the early stages of convergence

As the global resource base is in need to move from fossil towards bio-based raw materials, different supply chains as well as existing technology platforms become increasingly interconnected. The therefore needed creation and exchange of new knowledge across scientific disciplines require R&D and target technology development and innovation, linking the knowledge-based bioeconomy to technology and innovation management research. In order to get an overview of the current research landscape dealing with the bioeconomy, a publication analysis is conducted. As the number of empirical studies, particularly in management research, is low, our study reveals that the evolution of the bioeconomy is still on a strategic level. Existing studies focus on knowledge networks, open innovation and technologies applicable across value chains to enable a holistic view on organizing future resource allocation and biomass flows. Scientific research in several dimensions is needed to elaborate the bioeconomy concept to make its implementation manageable. Industrial relevance Value chains, particularly of the agri-food, industrial products and energy sector, will increasingly converge due to the shift to bio-based raw materials leading to a mutual dependence and triggering new material flows and food processing technologies. This paper suggests that essential innovation management related research frames might contribute to a sustainable evolution of the bioeconomy by addressing the major challenges.

The emerging research landscape on bioeconomy: What has been done so far and what is essential from a technology and innovation management perspective?

Anticipating converging industries using publicly available data

Purpose – In search for new ideas outside the firm's boundaries most companies choose to implement cooperation in the form of discrete projects, increasing the importance of project management. As research in this area so far mainly dealt with formalized instruments of process control, the purpose of this paper is to focus on personal aspects, particularly on the role of project leadership.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 84 biotechnological projects were analyzed. A standardized questionnaire was developed and sent out to research and development managers from the chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry. The level of analysis for the survey were single cooperative projects and basically regression statistics were employed.Findings – It was found that the requirement for a stronger project leader is highly dependent on the degree of trust among team members and the administrative activity. In contrast, other factors, like the risk associated with a cooperative project, or the exten...

Project leadership skills in cooperative projects

The blurring of boundaries between hitherto distinct scientific disciplines, technologies or markets is a common and powerful phenomenon. Traditionally, it has been discussed in respect to telecommunications, information technologies and electronics. Subjects of this convergence often change what and where customers buy, with Apple's renowned iPhone being one current example for customers' tendency towards products with multiple benefits. More recently also the chemical and its related industries find themselves affected by a larger convergence process. Concentrating on developments at the outposts of the chemical industry, we discuss indications of convergence with an example from the area of Nutraceuticals and Cosmeceuticals. Furthermore, we present and discuss a multiple indicator concept for monitoring convergence in an R&D-intensive field on the basis of publicly available data. We analyze 7,455 scientific and patent references on phytosterols with the aid of SciFinder Scholar and 3,836 documents employing STN AnaVist. Our results show clear indications for convergence and a proof of principle for our monitoring concept. A closer look at convergence and effective tools for spotting weak signals appears to be necessary. Particularly for practitioners, the opportunity to get a head start on their current and future competitors is of high strategic importance.

Seeing the next iphone coming your way: How to anticipate converging industries

Converging industries are characterized by the blurring of boundaries between technologies, markets and industry sectors. As such they can enable firms to access new markets or threaten them with an array of new competitors and a lack of knowledge. This makes an early identification of convergence trends highly important. In the present paper we focus on the application of a frequency-based analysis and visualization software (STN AnaVist) for the forecasting of converging industries. Scrutinizing 3,836 patent and scientific publication references on phytosterols in the areas of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, we employ research landscape, co-authorship and International Patent Classification (IPC) co-classification analyses. The results demonstrate partial convergence between the pharmaceutical, the chemical, the nutrition and the cosmetics industries and the suitability of the employed approach. According to this study, scientific as well as technology convergence have taken place in this segment, with a time-lag of roughly 25 years.

Clive-Steven Curran

Papers

Patent indicators for monitoring convergence - examples from NFF and ICT

Anticipating converging industries using publicly available data

Project leadership skills in cooperative projects

Seeing the next iphone coming your way: How to anticipate converging industries

Employing stn anavist to forecast converging industries