4,537 research outputs found
Nanotechnology, Industry Competitiveness and University Strategies: the Case of the UWS Nanotechnology Network in South-West Sydney
University-industry alliances have long been pursued by public funded programs hoping to boost innovation spillovers in a geographical or cognitive area of research-strength by universities. However, there is still a lack of industry-university cooperation in many fields while at the same time the benefits of universities to their regionsâ knowledge intensity is firmly advocated (Acs 2004, Martinez-Fernandez & Leevers 2004, Martinez-Fernandez 2004)). The issue is not limited to the dissemination of knowledge, a traditional role of universities, but to introducing change into the regionâs innovation system through activities that increase industry competitive advantage. Results from a project conducted in South-West Sydney from 2003 to 2005 shows that active industry engagement by Universities offering specific expertise in frontier technologies has a positive effect in university-industry cooperation if compared with other technologies well established in the private sector. The project results also show that the role of Universities as active facilitators of industry engagement in frontier technologies is a critical element in the regional/local innovation system where the university operates. The paper discusses first the context of the emergence of the UWS Nanotechnology Network as a sophisticated knowledge intensive service activity led by the University. Secondly the paper discusses the particular case of nanotechnology as a science in an early path and the role of universities at this particular stage. Thirdly, the paper discusses the use and barriers of firms to nanotechnology applications and the role played by UWS during the duration of the project. Finally policy issues arise in relation to the role of the public education sector in the early promotion of frontier technologies. References Acs, Z. (2002) Innovation and the Growth of Cities. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Martinez-Fernandez, M.C. (2004) âRegional Collaboration Infrastructure: Effects in the Hunter Valley of NSWâ, Australian Planner Vol 41(4); Planning Institute of Australia: Queensland. Martinez-Fernandez, M.C. and K. Leevers (2004) âKnowledge Creation, Sharing and Transfer as an Innovation Strategy: The Discovery of Nano-technology by South-West Sydneyâ. International Journal of Technology Management (IJTM), Volume 28 (3/4/5/6): 560-581.
The role of regional institutional entrepreneurs in the emergence of clusters in nanotechnologies
In the case of new technologies like nanotechnology, institutional entrepreneurs appear who have to act at different levels (organizational, regional, national) at the same time. We reconstruct, in some detail, the history of two cases, in Grenoble and in Twente/Netherlands. An intriguing finding is that institutional entrepreneurs build their environment before changing their institution. They first mobilize European support to convince local and national levels before actual cluster building occurs. Only later will there be reactions against any de-institutionalisation caused at the base location. The Dutch case shows another notable finding: when mobilizing support the entrepreneur will have to agree to further conditions, and then ends up in a different situation (a broad national consortium) than originally envisaged (the final cluster involved a collaboration of Twente with two other centres). In general, an institutional entrepreneur attempts to create momentum, and when this is achieved, he has to follow rather than lead it.INSTITUTIONAL ENTREPRENEUR; DEINSTITUTIONALISATION; CLUSTER; LOCATION; EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES; PROMISE; NANOTECHNOLOGY
Opportunity Creation in Innovation Networks: Interactive Revealing Practices
Innovating in networks with partners that have diverse knowledge is challenging. The challenges stem from the fact that the commonly used knowledge protection mechanisms often are neither available nor suitable in early stage exploratory collaborations. This article focuses on how company participants in heterogeneous industry networks share private knowledge while protecting firm-specific appropriation. We go beyond the prevailing strategic choice perspectives to discuss interactive revealing practices that sustain joint opportunity creation in the fragile phase of early network formation.Center for Business, Technology and La
Dynamics of biosciences regulation and opportunities for biosciences innovation in Africa: Exploring regulatory policy brokering
Knowledge brokering has been explored in the innovation literature to understand how different innovation tasks are organised toward technological development. This paper reflects upon the role of different organisations as knowledge brokers in regulatory policy processes towards putting biosciences research into use. It identifies a practical function-based typology that describes four categories of policy brokers who perform different tasks, with the potential to impact biosciences regulatory policy change. The paper concludes with a brief exploration of how policy can support the different functions of regulatory policy brokerage to enhance the translation of biosciences research into use for the benefit of the poor. Using regulatory policy-making in Kenya as an example, it contributes to growing scholarship that seeks to link knowledge emanating from research with policy-making and economic development, particularly in an African context.Biosciences, Biotechnology Regulation, Knowledge Brokers, Policy Brokering, Africa, Kenya
Catalytic Functions of Standards
The three different areas and the examples have illustrated several catalytic functions
of standards for innovation. First, the standardisation process reduces the time to market
of inventions, research results and innovative technologies. Second, standards
themselves promote the diffusion of innovative products, which is most important for
the economic impact of innovation. A third more indirect, but important function of standards
is that they level the playing field and therefore promote competition and consequently
innovation. Fourth, compatibility standards are the basis for innovation in network
industries e.g. for communication networks (e.g. GSM), which are increasingly
penetrating our economies. In network industries, standards also facilitate the substitution
of old technologies by new ones, e.g. by forward and backward compatibility, and
also to allow the coexistence of old and new technologies. New platform standards are
often the basis for innovation in downstream markets (e.g. GSM as platform for numerous
mobile services), but also in upstream markets. Besides these network related
functions, a generic characteristic of standards is that they reflect user needs and
therefore promote the purchase, i.e. the diffusion, of new products by early adopters.
Finally, standards set the minimum requirements for environmental, health and safety
aspects and consequently promote trust especially in innovative products.
Despite all these catalytic functions of standards for innovation, there are also shortcomings
and problems. First, standards are the outcome of a consensus process of all
interested parties and consequently represent the smallest denominator, which is often
not a strong incentive for innovation activities, compared to more challenging technological
specifications possibly set by governmental top-down regulations. Second,
standards which are technology-specific and over-prescriptive instead of technologyneutral
and focused on functionalities and performance characteristics do not create
leeway and competitive incentives for alternative innovative solutions. Third, standards
can also create lock-ins in existing technologies, especially if they do not specify interfaces
or allow compatibility with follow-up technologies, because this hinders consecutive
innovations in an industry. Especially proprietary standards of single or groups of
dominant players may prevent competing technologies to market access and therefore
thwart innovation
Innovation Broker Functions in Regional Innovation Systems. A case study of Food Valley Organization
The governance of formal universityâindustry interactions: understanding the rationales for alternative models
This article develops a conceptual framework to explain the economic rationale underpinning the choice of different modes of governance of formal universityâindustry interactions: personal contractual interactions, where the contract regulating the collaboration involves a firm and an individual academic researcher, and institutional interactions, where the relationship between the firm and the academic is mediated by the university. Although institutional interactions, for numerous reasons, have become more important, both governance modes are currently being implemented. We would argue that they have some important specificities that need to be understood if universityâindustry knowledge transfer is to be managed effectively and efficiently
Universities, regional policy and the knowledge economy
This article focuses on the spatial clustering dimension of new information and communications technology (ICT)-driven economic activity based on knowledge industries and especially the tacit knowledge synergies to be achieved through networking in geographical space. The article first details the new knowledge economy, reviewing claims made for its distinctiveness and its role in raising levels of productivity before turning to a brief study of the clustering effects of new ICT-driven economic activity and the development of policies designed to enhance regional development. The remainder of the article details a case study â Univercities: the Manchester Knowledge Capital Initiative â in the North-west of the United Kingdom based on recent research into the attempt to create a âKnowledge Capitalâ within the Greater Manchester conurbation, which is designed to position Manchester at the heart of the knowledge economy
Patent Information Retrieval: Approaching a Method and Analyzing Nanotechnology Patent Collaborations
ArticleThis is the final version of the article. Available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.Many challenges still remain in the processing of explicit technological knowledge documents such as patents. Given the limitations and drawbacks of the existing approaches, this research sets out to develop an improved method for searching patent databases and extracting patent information to increase the efficiency and reliability of nanotechnology patent information retrieval process and to empirically analyse patent collaboration. A tech-mining method was applied and the subsequent analysis was performed using Thomson data analyser software. The findings show that nations such as Korea and Japan are highly collaborative in sharing technological knowledge across academic and corporate organisations within their national boundaries, and China presents, in some cases, a great illustration of effective patent collaboration and co-inventorship. This study also analyses key patent strengths by country, organisation and technology
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