Path-creating networks in the field of next generation lithography: outline of a research project

Der Beitrag stellt ein Forschungsprojekt vor, das die möglichen technologischen Pfade bei der Entwicklung von Halbleitern untersucht, die schließlich zu einer Produktion, also zu einer Umsetzung des technologischen Fortschritts, führen. An solch einem Vorgang sind Personen mit unterschiedlichem wissenschaftlichem Hintergrund (optische Physik, Elektrotechnik, Chemie) und verschiedene Gesellschaftsbereiche (Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft, Staat) beteiligt. In diesem Zusammenhang stellt sich nun die Ausgangsfrage des Projektes, in welchem Umfang, unter welchen Bedingungen und Organisations-Netzwerken die Kreation eines neuen technologischen Pfades möglich ist. In das Thema einführend, wird zunächst der Forschungsstand zum Zusammenhang zwischen der Theorie der Pfadabhängigkeit und dem Konzept der Pfadkreation im Prozess der Technologieentwicklung beschrieben. Auf dieser Grundlage folgt die Konzeptionalisierung des dargestellten Forschungsprojektes. Im Anschluss wird das empirische Untersuchungsfeld in seinen Grundzügen präsentiert: die Entwicklung einer neuen Lithographie-Generation für Halbleiter mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der unterschiedlichen technologischen Pfade, die als realisierbar anzusehen sind. So gilt es, bei der Betrachtung der Pfadkreation von technologischen Neuerungen die Entwicklung reflexiver interorganisationaler Netzwerke zu betrachten. Gemäß der spezifischen Forschungsfragen werden abschließend das Forschungsdesign und die methodologische Vorgehensweise präsentiert. So ist das Projekt auf den Zeitraum von 2004 bis 2009 zugeschnitten und umfasst drei Interviewphasen. Auf diese Weise kann der Innovationsprozess der nächsten Lithographie-Generation in Realzeit bis zur voraussichtlichen Produktion dieser neuen Systemtechnologie untersucht werden. (ICG2

The Dynamics of Active Embedding and Field Structuration

This article examines how multinational corporations (MNCs) shape institutional conditions in emerging economies to secure access to high- skilled, yet lower-cost science and engineering talent. Based on two in-depth case studies of engineering offshoring projects of German automotive suppliers in Romania and China we analyze how MNCs engage in ‘active embedding’ by aligning local institutional conditions with global offshoring strategies and operational needs. MNCs thereby contribute to the structuration of field relations and practices of sourcing knowledge-intensive work from globally dispersed locations. Our findings stress the importance of institutional processes across geographic boundaries that regulate and get shaped by MNC activities

Securing access to lower-cost talent globally: The dynamics of active embedding and field structuration

This article examines how multinational corporations shape institutional conditions in emerging economies to secure access to high-skilled, yet lower-cost science and engineering talent. Two in-depth case studies of engineering offshoring projects of German automotive suppliers in Romania and China illustrate how multinational corporations engage in ‘active embedding’ by aligning local institutional conditions with global offshoring strategies and operational needs. Multinational corporations thereby contribute to the structuration of field relations and practices of sourcing knowledge-intensive work from globally dispersed locations. The findings stress the importance of institutional processes across geographic boundaries that regulate and are shaped by multinational corporation activities

The Case of Semiconductor Manufacturing Technologies

Taking issue with the classical theory of path dependence, we capture the active agency involved in collective efforts aimed at extending a current technological path and, in parallel, at creating a new path in the field of leading-edge international semiconductor manufacturing. We apply structuration theory in order to analyse the practices of path constitution that traditional evolutionary views of lock-in and irreversibility in path processes have neglected. Drawing on 96 interviews since 2003 and extensive secondary sources in the field of semiconductor manufacturing in Europe, Japan and the United States, we perform a qualitative, longitudinal and multi-level case analysis; in this analysis we trace, in particular, the strategic development of a path- extending technological option besides a potentially path-breaking new generation of lithography for chip manufacturing systems. Our results provide deep insights into the collective and collaborative dimension of organizing R&D; in processes of technology development. Thereby, we contribute to a theory of technological paths that considers collective embedded agency and takes into account interorganizational forms for an understanding of the innovation dynamics in science-based industries such as semiconductor manufacturing

Organizing R&D Consortia for Path Creation and Extension: The Case of Semiconductor Manufacturing Technologies

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Taking issue with the classical theory of path dependence, we capture the active agency involved in collective efforts aimed at extending a current technological path and, in parallel, at creating a new path in the field of leading-edge international semiconductor manufacturing. We apply structuration theory in order to analyse the practices of path constitution that traditional evolutionary views of lock-in and irreversibility in path processes have neglected. Drawing on 96 interviews since 2003 and extensive secondary sources in the field of semiconductor manufacturing in Europe, Japan and the United States, we perform a qualitative, longitudinal and multi-level case analysis; in this analysis we trace, in particular, the strategic development of a path-extending technological option besides a potentially path-breaking new generation of lithography for chip manufacturing systems. Our results provide deep insights into the collective and collaborative dimension of organizing R&D in processes of technology development. Thereby, we contribute to a theory of technological paths that considers collective embedded agency and takes into account interorganizational forms for an understanding of the innovation dynamics in science-based industries such as semiconductor manufacturing

A relational-structuration perspective on internationalization in television content production

Our study of German television content production firms entering the Hungarian market and other markets, and of U.S. firms entering the German market shows that foreign market entry in this industry often takes the form of network entry and, in some cases, collective network entry. The network orientation is the preferred strategy, to help firms cope with the often substantial “cultural discount” on their products. To interpret these observations, we extend the network approach of the Nordic school of international business research and distinguish between networks as a (relational) perspective and a form of governance. Our data show that, in this industry, different “market” entry strategies are implicated in network entry. Foreign market entry is a process that includes a dynamic mix of market, hierarchical, and network arrangements. Using ideas from Giddens’ (1984) structuration theory, we conceptualize foreign market entry as a process driven by the recursive interplay of knowledgeable agents and the social structure of organizational networks and fields

Arbeitsregulation in Projektnetzwerken: eine strukturationstheoretische Analyse

"Projektbasierte Industrien erfahren heute große Aufmerksamkeit. Wie in diesen Industrien die Arbeit reguliert ist, ist bislang relativ wenig untersucht. Greifen in diesen Industrien die traditionellen Formen der Arbeitsregulation oder haben sich in ihnen neue Formen herausgebildet? Wir untersuchen diese Fragen empirisch in der deutschen Fernsehproduktion, einer projektbasierten Industrie par excellence, die zudem von einer besonderen Form von Unternehmungsnetzwerk gekennzeichnet ist, dem Projektnetzwerk. Wir zeigen, dass Arbeit auch jenseits der Inseln der Regulation im traditionellen Sinne kollektiv reguliert wird. Institutionen wie Professionen und Sozialsysteme wie Projektnetzwerke, Regionen und Industrien sind in der Fernsehindustrie die Basis von kollektiven Regulationen von Arbeit. Gleichwohl besitzen diese Arbeitsregulationen eine andere Qualität als die im dualen System, sind segmentiert und fragmentiert. Theoretisch präsentieren wir ein strukturationstheoretisches Konzept kollektiver Arbeitsregulation (in Projektnetzwerken)." (Autorenreferat)"Project-based industries receive more and more attention today. However, we know very little about labour regulation in these industries. Are traditional methods of employment regulation still relevant in these industries or do they display non-traditional forms of employment regulation? We examine these questions using, as an example, the German television production industry with its special form of inter-firm network, the project network. We show that forms of collective employment regulation do exist beyond the islands of regulation in the traditional sense. Institutions like professions and social systems as project networks, regions, and the industry are the basis of collective employment regulation. However, they exhibit a different nature as compared with dual system, and are segmented and fragmented. Theoretically, we present a structurationist concept of collective employment regulation (in project networks)." (author's abstract

Innovation society today: the reflexive creation of novelty

"While innovation has shaped modern society from its very inception, it is currently gaining new dimensions: Innovation is becoming increasingly reflexive, heterogeneously distributed, and ubiquitous. Reflexivity implies more than the intentional transformation of routine actions; it also refers to the transformation of social practices based on continuously (re-) produced knowledge about innovation. Thus, innovation itself becomes the aim and purpose of social activities: as the meaning and motif of (what we will refer to as the "semantics" of novelty), as a component of practical routines (the "pragmatics" of creative action), and, finally, as part of systematically (re-)produced social structures of generating novelty (the “grammar” of innovation regimes). Heterogeneous distribution refers to the observed shift from the individual entrepreneur to networks of innovation involving divergent actors. Ubiquity indicates the current expansion of innovation beyond the traditional spheres of science and economy and its generalization into an imperative for social action. This article presents a research framework that addresses the following key questions: How is novelty created reflexively, where can this process be observed, and which actors are driving it? By pursuing an extended notion of innovation, the framework promotes a sophisticated, sociological lens which is more encompassing than conventional economic perspectives. Our goal is to develop a more in-depth and empirically founded understanding of the meaning of innovation in contemporary society and the social processes it involves." (author's abstract

a methodology for understanding path dependence and path creation

Although an increasing number of studies of technological, institutional and organizational change refer to the concepts of path dependence and path creation, few attempts have been made to consider these concepts explicitly in their methodological accounts. This paper addresses this gap and contributes to the literature by developing a comprehensive methodology that originates from the concepts of path dependence and path creation – path constitution analysis (PCA) – and allows for the integration of multi-actor constellations on multiple levels of analysis within a process perspective. Based upon a longitudinal case study in the field of semiconductors, we illustrate PCA ‘in action’ as a template for other researchers and critically examine its adequacy. We conclude with implications for further path-oriented inquiries