The political economy of research and innovation in organic photovoltaics (OPV) in different world regions

Purpose: In this paper, we examine the status, prospects and organization of OPV research, innovation and governance in three major world regions: Northern America, Western Europe and East Asia through our constructed evolutionary cognitive-institutional framework of reference. Method: We gathered data from a 65-question internet-based survey conducted from February 2013 to April 2013 with OPV researchers and research managers around the world. A multi-method (investigative/exploratory, descriptive statistics) approach is used for analyses and discussions. Results: Overall findings show that the organization of OPV research, innovation and governance in Northern America, Western Europe and East Asia reflect similar aspects, patterns with their political economies surveyed in the literature: Northern America's neo-liberal market and finance orientation, Western Europe's orientation to sustainable development and policy-driven research, coordinated-regulatory inspirations and research-driven system, and East Asia's neo-developmental state view with international trade, technology-export orientation. Commercialization prospects in China are lowest and highest in the US but even there expectations of market sales are low. As a disruptive technology which is competing with older generations of PV and other energy technologies, OPV requires a coordinated effort involving international cooperation, the use of public and private money. Positive elements of the three world regions (availability of venture capital in the US, the meritocratic research system and ambitious goals for renewable energy in the EU, and the willingness of the Chinese government to back sunrise industries) could be usefully exploited. Keywords: Political Economy, Emerging Energy Technology, Research, Innovation, Governance, Organic Photovoltaic

Effective research and innovation (R&I) policy in the EU-28: A causal and configurational analysis of political governance determinants

Effective research and innovation (R&I) policy depends on the extent to which ideas, interests and institutional mechanisms for policy making work together rather than work against each other. In a political governance model for effective R&I policy in the EU-28, the separate influence of inter-ministerial coordination, regulatory impact assessment extended to sustainability checks, parliamentary committee surveillance, media attention and societal consultation is investigated. Interaction effects are investigated in a set-theoretic analysis for the econometrically best-fit model. Our results show that the societal consultation, policy-informed opposition and sector-informed informal policy coordination are necessary but not sufficient to bring about effectiveness to R&I policy. Their influence on effectiveness of R&I policy depends on the combination with either media attention or Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) extended to sustainability checks. We reached these results with the help of ordered logit estimations and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analyses using 2011-2013 (SGI) data of Bertelsmann Stiftung and Lexis Nexis Academic

Stapjes in de goede richting : innovatie voor duurzame ontwikkeling

Rede bij de aanvaarding van de leerstoel innovatie en duurzame ontwikkeling, uitgesproken in verkorte vorm op vrijdag 12 november 2010, Universiteit Maastrich