Recent transformations in the global wind energy industry have considerable implications for firms to catch up as the sectoral frontier advances from on- and offshore wind turbines towards digital/hybrid systems. These technological shifts potentially precipitate new green windows of opportunity. This article finds that latecomer firms show different capabilities in responding to technological transformation at the global level, which explains variations in catch-up trajectories under the same framework conditions.
Studies on catching up and industrial leadership have often used market-related variables to evaluate the catch-up trajectories of latecomer countries and firms. In this study, we aim to enhance our understanding of these concepts by presenting an integrated market-technology framework. Using natural language processing techniques allows us to go beyond patent numbers and analyze patent novelty and impact as well as technological changes over time. In empirical case studies on wind energy and electric vehicles in China, Japan, and South Korea, we compare and identify country and sector-specific catch-up trajectories and potential catch-up traps.
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