The diffusion of environmental innovations: a geographical perspective on lead markets and technology licensing in China

The consequences of the climate crisis for life on earth are already severe. In addition, the planet is facing a multitude of other negative environmental impacts of human activity, including the loss of biodiversity, the depletion of resources and environmental pollution, to name but a few. In response to these great challenges, there has been extensive research over the last few years directed towards the development of environmentally friendly technologies. These so-called green technologies or environmental innovations include, among other things, renewable energy technologies, energy-efficiency technologies and waste management technologies. In order to tackle the climate crisis and environmental damage, however, it is not sufficient simply to invent green technologies; they must also be used and diffused globally. In this dissertation, I shed light on the diffusion of environmental innovations from a spatial perspective, i.e. the process from invention to adoption and the geography thereof. My research focuses on diffusion processes taking place in China, which is a particularly important case. The pace of China's sustainability transition will have a decisive impact on global futures given its current environmentally adverse modes of production and consumption. At the same time, China ranks as the largest market for green technologies and leads the technological frontier in many domains. From an economic geography point of view, many Chinese regions therefore enjoy great prospects for green regional path development, which might lead to a win-win situation for the environment and the local economy. Against this background, I analyze the diffusion of environmental innovations in Chinese regions using a regional case study and quantitative analyses of patent licensing data. Drawing on the case study, I develop a conceptual framework that provides a rationale for the spatial diffusion of environmental innovations: the regional lead market framework. The quantitative analyses provide statistical evidence for how spatial patterns of green technology diffusion might evolve into lead market structures. The findings reveal, inter alia, that geographic proximity between innovators and adopters not only increases the likelihood of innovation diffusion processes, but also their speed. The results of this dissertation yield important lessons for regional eco-innovation policy.Die Klimakrise hat gravierende Folgen für das Leben auf der Erde. Darüber hinaus ist der Planet mit einer Vielzahl weiterer negativer Umweltauswirkungen menschlichen Handelns konfrontiert, darunter der Verlust der Biodiversität, die Erschöpfung von Ressourcen sowie Umweltverschmutzungen, um nur einige zu nennen. Als Reaktion auf diese Herausforderungen wurde in den letzten Jahren umfangreich an umweltfreundlichen Technologien geforscht. Zu diesen sogenannten grünen Technologien bzw. Umweltinnovationen gehören beispielsweise regenerative Energiequellen, Energieeffizienztechnologien oder Abfallbehandlungstechnologien. Um der Klimakrise und Umweltschäden entgegenzuwirken, reicht es jedoch nicht aus, grüne Technologien zu entwickeln, sondern sie müssen auch weltweit eingesetzt werden und diffundieren. In dieser Dissertation untersuche ich die Diffusion von Umweltinnovationen aus räumlicher Perspektive, d.h. ich analysiere den Prozess von der Erfindung bis zur Anwendung von grünen Technologien sowie die Geographien dessen. Meine Forschung konzentriert sich auf Diffusionsprozesse in China, da China aufgrund der gegenwärtigen umweltschädlichen Produktions- und Konsumweisen eine kritische Rolle für die globale Nachhaltigkeitstransition spielt. China ist gleichzeitig auch wichtigster Markt für grüne Technologien und in vielen umweltrelevanten Bereichen technologisch führend. Aus wirtschaftsgeographischer Perspektive bieten sich daher für viele chinesische Regionen vielversprechende Chancen für eine grüne Regionalentwicklung, die positive Effekte sowohl für die Umwelt als auch für die lokale Wirtschaft und Bevölkerung miteinander vereinbart. Vor diesem Hintergrund analysiere ich die Diffusion von Umweltinnovationen in chinesischen Regionen anhand von einer regionalen Fallstudie und quantitativen Analysen von Technologielizenzen zu grünen Patenten. Auf Basis der Fallstudie erarbeite ich das Konzept der Regionalen Leitmärkte, das eine Begründung für die räumliche Verbreitung von Umweltinnovationen liefert. Die quantitativen Analysen präsentieren statistische Hinweise dafür, wie sich räumliche Diffusionsmuster grüner Technologien zu Leitmarktstrukturen entwickeln können. Die Ergebnisse zeigen unter anderem, dass die räumliche Nähe zwischen Innovatoren und Anwendern nicht nur die Wahrscheinlichkeit von Innovationsdiffusionsprozessen erhöht, sondern auch deren Geschwindigkeit. Die Ergebnisse dieser Dissertation liefern wichtige Erkenntnisse für die regionale Umweltinnovationspolitik

Implications of China's innovation policy shift: Does “indigenous” mean closed?

China's government aims to become an innovation nation and promotes the development of so-called indigenous innovation. Under this paradigm of state-encouraged innovation, however, it is unclear how domestic firms organize their innovation processes. We distinguish between two strategies in that respect: closed versus open innovation. Our findings suggest that firms with closed innovation processes collaborate in close geographic distance, rely on DUI-modes of learning, and collaborations are based on guanxi. In contrast, firms with open innovation processes collaborate over large distances and rely on STI-modes of learning that are not necessarily guanxi-based. The findings help to understand the heterogeneous nature of indigenous innovation in China. © 2020 The Authors. Growth and Change published by Wiley Periodicals LL

The combination of supply and demand-side eco-innovation policies for regional sustainability transitions

We argue that the combination of place-based supply-side and demand-side innovation policies is particularly important for environmental innovations. Beyond that, we call attention to the double externality problem of environmental innovations, which requires (region-specific) policy support in the diffusion phase. Finally, we posit that the successful combination of region-specific supply and demand-side eco-innovation policies can create regional lead markets and help to leverage sustainability transitions

38. Folge: J-Talks: Was ist bitte eine "nachhaltige" Wirtschaftsgeographie? (28.02.2023)

In dieser Folge von SpacEconomics diskutiert Björn Braunschweig mit Dr. Sebastian Losacker von der Universität Hannover über Ausrichtung und Inhalte einer nachhaltigen Wirtschaftsgeographie. Dabei geht es unter anderem darum wie eine Wissenschaftsdisziplin nachhaltig sein kann, was sich hinter dem Konzept der planetaren Grenzen verbirgt, was man unter Umweltinnovationen versteht, wie Umweltinnovationen von ihrem Entstehungsort aus zu anderen Orten gelangen und welche Rolle die Politik bei der Umsetzung von Umweltinnovationen spielt

A spatial perspective on green technology adoption in China : insights from patent licensing data

In the transition to more sustainable regional economies, the widespread adoption of green technologies is crucial. However, little is known about the geography of green technology adoption and the relationship between regional demand and supply of green technologies. In this paper, we shed light on the (regional) factors explaining whether innovation adopters use green technologies that have been developed locally or green technologies that have been developed in other places. We analyze a unique data set of 8825 licensing agreements for Chinese patents in green technologies, which we use as an indicator to measure innovation diffusion. Our results suggest that the regional context plays a key role in predicting whether innovation adopters use local or non-local green technologies. We show, among other things, that the use of locally developed green technologies is more likely in regions characterized by green technology specializations and high innovation capacity than in less innovative regions

The geography of environmental innovation : a critical review and agenda for future research

This article provides a critical literature review on the regional determinants of environmental innovation. The analysis of the relevant literature on supply-side factors, demand-side factors, and institutional factors reveals the importance of regional determinants in green technology development. Specifically, regional R&D collaborations, university-industry collaborations, and technological relatedness have positive effects on innovation activities in green domains. On the demand side, regional environmental awareness and demonstration effects play a pivotal role in the emergence and diffusion of environmental innovations. Environmental regulations also induce environmental innovation, however, there is only limited evidence at the regional level. Our literature review has informed the development of an agenda for future research, which suggests three avenues for further investigation. Firstly, we recommend abandoning the simple green vs. non-green dichotomy and conducting more technology-sensitive studies on the determinants of environmental innovation. Secondly, we call for a more sophisticated and critical engagement with regional institutions, with a focus on both formal and informal institutions. Lastly, we propose a demand-side turn in research on the regional determinants of environmental innovation in order to better understand their diffusion across space. Overall, our findings suggest that policymakers need to adopt a more nuanced and comprehensive approach to eco-innovation policy, one that considers the spatial and multi-level governance challenges and promotes inclusive regional development

Rethinking bioeconomy innovation in sustainability transitions

Over the past two decades, a new research field dealing with “sustainability transitions” has emerged, analyzing the transformation of socio-technical systems towards more sustainable futures. While there is consensus on the crucial role of the bioeconomy in sustainability transitions research, we argue that the true potential of many bioeconomy innovations is not yet sufficiently recognized and assessed. Much of the literature on the bioeconomy focuses on the bio-based substitution of environmentally harmful goods, neglecting the disruptive potential of innovative biotechnologies. In this commentary, we present some examples on advanced biotechnology and we invite sustainability transitions scholars to rethink their notion of bioeconomy innovations