Development blocks in innovation networks

Abstract

The notion of development blocks (Dahmén, 1950, 1991) suggests the co-evolution of technologies and industries through complementarities and the overcoming of imbalances. This study proposes and applies a methodology to analyse development blocks empirically. To assess the extent and character of innovational interdependencies between industries the study combines analysis of innovation biographies and statistical network analysis. This is made possible by using data from a newly constructed innovation output database for Sweden. The study finds ten communities of closely related industries in which innovation activity has been prompted by the emergence of technological imbalances or by the exploitation of new technological opportunities. The communities found in the Swedish network of innovation are shown to be stable over time and often characterized by strong user-supplier interdependencies. These findings serve to stress how historical imbalances and opportunities are key to understanding the dynamics of the long-run development of industries and new technologies.

Network analysis of surgical innovation: Measuring value and the virality of diffusion in robotic surgery

“…Despite the prominent role of innovation in surgery, only limited attention has been paid to quantifying its value as a function of diffusion processes and implementation. An effective way to model the global spread of ideas, knowledge, and innovation is through network analysis [ 21 , 22 ]. Network analysis has been previously used in surgical research but only in the context of network meta-analysis and scientific collaboration networks [ 23 – 25 ].…”

Integrating Industrial Transformation and Sustainability Transitions Research Through a Multi-Sectoral Perspective

“…Historical studies have shown that while some radical innovations only influence a specific sector, others may affect a whole range of sectors or, in rare cases, the entire economy (Perez, 2002(Perez, , 2009b. Radical innovations or clusters of innovations can thus set in motion "a series of everwidening concentric circle" of change (Rosenberg, 1982) that create a "sequence of widening imbalances" in the economy (Dahmén, 1989;Taalbi, 2016).…”

Crisis and Innovations: Are they Constructive or Destructive?

“…The GFC is associated with permanent declines in industrial production, investment and productivity, and this applies to both companies (Ahn, Duval & Sever, 2018), industries (Dell'Ariccia, Detragiache & Rajan 2008Kroszner, Leaven & Klingebiel, 2007) and the macroeconomic scale (Cerra & Saxena, 2017;Kołodko, 2020). As it was, the GFC caused a reduction of the external R&D financing channel, patent and innovation financing by blocking long-term corporate investments, hindering the return of economic activity to the original path of growth (Cerra & Saxena, 2008, 2017Furceri & Zdzienicka, 2011;Reinhart & Rogoff, 2009;Teulings & Zubanov, 2014). In the process of restricting the external financing of innovations in the crisis, an actual reallocation of bank loans from innovative to non-innovative companies was observed because of excessive risk coming with innovative activity (Hall & Lerner 2010;OECD, 2012;Benoliel & Gishboliner, 2015;Markatou & Vetsikas, 2015;Nanda & Nicholas, 2014;Aghion, Askenazy, Berman, Cette, & Eymard, 2012;de Ridder, 2019;Peia, 2019).…”