Demand, innovation, and the dynamics of market structure: The role of experimental users and diverse preferences

Malerba, Franco; Nelson, Richard R.; Orsenigo, Luigi; Winter, Sidney G.

doi:10.1007/s00191-007-0060-x

Cited by 161 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…It is thus a model of delayed substitution. The view of Levinthal is comparable to the one advanced by Malerba and et al (2003), who have pointed out that the launch of new technologies depends on the existence of fringe markets which the old technology does not serve well. Levinthal stresses that the process begins with micro-inventions, while Malerba and other emphasize new technologies.…”

Section: Market Niche Developmentmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…We will explore systematically how niches have been conceptualized in various evolutionary theories of technical change coming from different traditions: evolutionary economics (e.g. Levinthal 1998;Nelson and Winter 1982;Saviotti 1996;Ziman 2000;Malerba et al 2003), history of technology (e.g. Basalla 1988;Constant 1980;Mokyr 1990a), science and technology studies (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Niches in evolutionary theories of technical change

2007

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In this article, the use of the niche concept for explaining radical technical change is explored. Contributions of various strands of literatures are elaborated and systematized in a taxonomy. Radical change or technological discontinuity is defined as the establishment of a new sociotechnical regime. Sociotechnical regimes carry and store rules for how to produce, use and regulate specific technologies. They perform the task of genes and define the boundary between technological species. It is proposed that radical change is generated by four different evolutionary mechanisms and patterns: natural selection, punctuated equilibrium, market niche selection, and technological niche selection. In each pattern, a different type of niche is implicated in the change process. The difference between niches results from differentiating between two dimensions: (1) whether niches are internal or external to the prevailing sociotechnical regime; (2) whether rules for design and use of a specific technology are stable or unstable within the niche.

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Section: Market Niche Developmentmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Niches in evolutionary theories of technical change

2007

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“…13 When the new technology provides some distinctive functionality or benefit for a particular group of potential adopters, which cannot be adequately provided by the established technologies, this can give rise to a niche market (Levinthal, 1998;Malerba et al, 2007) Niche market customers are willing to pay more or take the risk of adopting a new technology even if it does not perform as well as established technologies with regards to other performance attributes (Adner and Levinthal, 2001), since the advantages of the new technology are valued higher than its disadvantages (e.g. in terms of cost) (Bergek et al, 2008).…”

Section: The Innovation Adoption Dimensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who invests in renewable electricity production? Empirical evidence and suggestions for further research

Bergek¹,

Mignon²,

Sundberg³

2013

Energy Policy

133

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Tranforming energy systems to fulfill the needs of a low-carbon economy requires large investments in renewable electricity production (RES-E). Recent literature underlines the need to take a closer look at the composition of the RES-E investor group in order to understand the motives and investment processes of different types of investors. However, existing energy policies generally consider RES-E investments made on a regional or national level, and target investors who evaluate their RES-E investments according to least-cost high-profit criteria. We present empirical evidence to show that RES-E investments are made by a heterogeneous group of investors, that a variety of investors exist and that their formation varies among the different types of renewable sources. This has direct implications for our understanding of the investment process in RES-E and for the study of motives and driving forces of RES-E investors. We introduce a multi-dimensional framework for analyzing differences between categories of investors, which not only considers to the standard economic dimension which is predominant in the contemporary energy literature, but also considers the entrepreneurship, innovation-adoption and institutional dimensions. The framework emphasizes the influence of four main investor-related factors on the investment process which should be studied in future research: motives, background, resources and personal characteristics.

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“…Given that radical innovation is an inherently uncertain process, there will inevitably be a high failure rate in niche formation. ]New firms need to identify a fringe market that is not well served by old technologies, products or services, in order to keep themselves alive long enough to develop their own new technologies, products or services (Malerba et al, 2007). The test of a technological niche will depend on whether it can grow in small fringe market niches and then, ultimately, whether it can breakthrough into a more general socio-technical regime (Geels, 2002;Geels and Schot, 2007).…”

Section: Beyond Equilibrium: Place and Path Creationmentioning

confidence: 99%