Non Expectations and Adaptive Behaviours: the Missing Trade-off in Models of Innovation

We explore the modelling of the determination of the level of R&D investment of firms. This means that we do not tackle the decision of being an innovator or not, nor the adoption of a new technology. We exclude these decisions and focus on the situations where firms invest in internal R&D in order to produce an innovation. In that case the problem is to determine the level of R&D investment. Our interest is to analyse how expectation and adaptation can be combined in the modelling of R&D investment rules. In the literature both dimensions are generally split up: rational expectations are assumed in neoclassical models whereas alternative approaches (institutional and/or evolutionary) generally adopt a purely adaptive representation.Bounded rationality, learning, expectations, innovation dynamics.

Diversity of Innovative Strategy as a Source of Technological Performance

This paper explores the impact of diversity of innovative strategies of firms upon the industrial dynamics through a micro-simulation model. We consider two types of firms each one being characterised by a specific innovative strategy. Basically we assume that some cumulative firms adopt an internal learning by searching strategy, while noncumulative firms adopt an external learning strategy aiming at absorbing external sources of knowledge. The results show that the co-existence of the two types of firms leads to an oligopolistic structure characterised by asymmetries in the size of firms and high technological performances. Thus the diversity of innovative strategies generates a diversity in firms market shares and is a source of dynamic efficiency in the long run.Industrial dynamics, innovation, diversity, learning

Environmental innovation and industrial dynamics: the contributions of evolutionary economics

The purpose of this article is to discuss the contributions of the evolutionary theory of innovation on the micro and meso dynamics of environmental innovations. We argue that the evolutionary literature on innovation, and more particularly on technological regimes, provides a relevant framework in order to analyse the various determinants of environmental innovations and the double externality problem in an industrial dynamics context. The article starts with an overview of the empirical literature on environmental innovations with a focus on their determinants and specificities. In section 3, we discuss the contributions of the evolutionary literature on technological regimes and argue that it can provide a relevant framework for a sectoral approach of environmental innovations. In section 4, we concentrate on the role of demand side dynamics and highlight the implications of technological competition models on the role of demand conditions in the diffusion of environmental technologies. Finally, section 5 is devoted to the implications of the evolutionary theory of innovation on the question of the transition towards more sustainable technological systems.Environmental innovations, industrial dynamics, evolutionary theory, technological regimes

Incrementalism of environmental innovations versus paradigmatic change: A comparative study of the automotive and chemical industries

Environmental innovations; technological regime; technological paradigm; environmental regulation; automotive industry; green chemistry

Incrementalism of environmental innovations versus paradigmatic change: A comparative study of the automotive and chemical industries

Environmental innovations; technological regime; technological paradigm; environmental regulation; automotive industry; green chemistry

Environmental Innovations and Industrial Dynamics (In French)

This article presents an empirical and theoretical analysis of environmental innovations in an evolutionary framework. Such an evolutionary analysis enables us to develop a dynamic analysis of environmental innovations emphasizing their multidimensional character and their evolution along technological trajectories embedded in dominant technological paradigms. In this perspective, environmental innovations appear as technological compromises which aim at combining regulatory objectives and environmental performances with productivity and competitiveness objectives of firms. The sectoral analyses presented in the first section illustrate these concepts, in particular the trajectories of clean technology and the sources of technological lock-in in the automotive industry and in green chemistry. In section 2, we focus on the role of demand and of environmental quality requirements in vertical relationships between firms. We present an evolutionary model of industrial dynamics which explicitly takes into account innovative activities of suppliers and environmental requirements of industrial clients. Simulation results underscore the determining role of demand in technological paradigm shifts, and more particularly the role of a critical mass of users characterized by high environmental requirements and high willingness to pay.environmental innovations; technological trajectories and paradigms; technological compromises; industrial dynamics and evolutionary simulation models

De l’homo oeconomicus empathique à l’homo sympathicus Les apports de la sympathie smithienne à la compréhension des comportements prosociaux

Modern economic approaches of empathy and sympathy aim at adding an altruistic dimension to the standard economic decision theory. The purpose of the introduction of another regarding dimension, in addition to the sole personal interest, is to try to explain prosocial preferences or behaviours. In this article, we show how and why the economic literature tries to grasp those concepts, but in a way that is very far from the original Smithian sympathy developed in his Theory of Moral Sentiments (TSM). We argue that, by remaining in the framework of methodological individualism and instrumental rationality, economic approaches, particularly in the field of experimental and behavioural economics, tend to reduce and to intrumentalize the concepts of sympathy and empathy. Such approaches seem to us not consistent with the Smithian social philosophy of human nature and interpersonal relationships

Variety of technological trajectories in low emission vehicles (LEVs): a patent data analysis

This paper focuses on the diversity of engine technologies for Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) that are developed by car manufacturers in order to substitute for the conventional internal combustion engine vehicle. Our purpose is to analyse the competition between the various technologies for LEVs as well as the innovative strategy of car manufacturers. We first propose to define and to represent these technological trajectories in order to compare their performances and to identify their strength and weaknesses. The technological bottlenecks, the barriers to the adoption of these alternative engine technologies as well as the features of this technological competition are underlined. We then use a patent data analysis to study the patent portfolios of the main car manufacturers in these technologies on the period from 1990 to 2005. The dynamics of patents applied by car manufacturers gives insight on the competition among technologies and on the strategy of firms. This analysis emphasises the progressive diversification of firms patent portfolios over the whole set of engine technologies and the differentiated strategic positioning of car manufacturers according to countries.Low emission vehicles; environmental innovation; technological competition; patent data

Dynamic efficiency of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) instruments in a simulation model of industrial dynamics

This paper presents an original approach to the impact of extended producer responsibility instruments for waste prevention upon firms\' innovative strategies and market structure. Our analysis is based on a stylised framework of waste prevention developed in Brouillat (2009a, b). In this framework, products are modelled as multi-characteristic technologies whose evolution depends on firms\' innovation strategies and on the interactions with consumers and post-consumption activities (recycling). This model has been adapted to explore the impact of waste prevention instruments upon industrial dynamics, and more particularly upon firms\' innovative strategies and upon the evolution of products\' characteristics and market structure. We focus on two types of policy instruments: recycling fees and norms. For each instrument, we will consider different policy designs in order to study their effects on industrial dynamics. The main contribution of this paper is to show how this type of simulation model can be used to explore the impact of waste prevention policy instruments on the technological evolution of products, on innovation strategy and on the evolution of firms\' market shares. The introduction of policy instruments in a simulation agent-based model of industrial dynamics enables us to analyse more thoroughly how different policy designs can modify the dynamics of the system and, more particularly, how the incentives and the constraints linked to the policy instruments under consideration shape market selection.waste prevention; industrial dynamics; environmental policy; simulation model; extended producer responsibility

Patents as a measure for eco-innovation

First paragraph: What is a patent? A patent is an exclusive right to exploit (make, use, sell, or import) an invention over a limited period of time (20 years from filing) within the country wherethe application is made. Patents are granted for inventions which are novel, inventive(non-obvious) and have an industrial application (useful). There are other types ofexclusive rights over intangible assets, notably copyright, design protection andtrademarks, but patents provide a broader protection that extends beyond the specificexpression of an invention to the invention itself. Due to this control over the technology,the patent holder is in a position to set a higher-than-competitive price for thecorresponding good or service, which allows recovery of innovation costs. In return, theapplicant must disclose the invention in the text of the application, which is published 18months after application (From OECD report Patents and Innovation: Trends andchallenges, 2004, p.8)