Environmental policy vs. public pressure: Innovation and diffusion of alternative bleaching technologies in the pulp industry

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, concern over dioxin in both paper products and wastewater led to the development of techniques that reduced the use of chlorine in the pulp industry. Both regulatory and consumer pressure motivated this change. Unlike previous studies, we use patent data to examine the evolution of two competing bleaching technologies in five major paper-producing countries, both of which reduce the use of chlorine in the pulping process. The use of patent data allows us to focus on the invention stage. However, adoption data are also presented, and by the end of the 1990s, nearly all pulp production in these countries used one of these technologies. While previous studies emphasize the importance of regulation for inducing innovation, here we find substantial innovation occurring before regulations were in place. Instead, pressure from consumers and the public at large to reduce the chlorine content of paper drove invention, prior to the introduction of environmental policies in any of the countries concerned.     

The technological system of production and innovation: The case of photovoltaic technology in China

This research paper studies the Chinese technological system of production and innovation in the field of photovoltaics (PV). It contributes to a better understanding of the emergence and development of the system by utilizing three levels of analysis: the institutional framework of the system, the market dynamics of production and deployment, and the composition of innovation-related activities. The analysis demonstrates the interrelated roles of transnational factors, local government policies, and research and development (R&D) activities undertaken by the main actors in shaping the system dynamics. Tracking the relative position of China in the global PV manufacturing, installation and technological development, the analysis shows a gap between the growth of China’s market share and its modest share of transnational patent applications. This suggests a puzzle, which the paper attempts to answer by inspecting the individual companies in the system against four aspects. First, the dynamic development of their size and performance. Second, the nature of their international involvement through foreign direct investment and mergers and acquisition deals. Third, their technological specialization within the PV value chain over time. Fourth, the spatial scope of their patenting protection endeavours. The analysis recognises four periods of system development driven jointly by market dynamics and government plans. Behind the continuous growth of the system, there were different driving and moderating factors in each period.     

Integrating structural tensions into technological innovation systems analysis: Application to the case of transmission interconnections and renewable electricity in Nova Scotia,Canada

This paper augments the technological innovation systems (TIS) framework to provide policy guidance on how to manage interactions between a core technology and its larger sectoral context. A TIS development cycle is presented that combines the TIS framework’s ability to clearly illuminate policy gaps with Erik Dahmén’s idea that technological diffusion creates structural tensions that introduce transformation pressure. This pressure can result in stagnation and unrealized development potential or spur sectoral complementarities and the evolution of a TIS into a larger “development block” of interlinked technological systems. Integrating structural tensions into TIS analysis highlights how the evolution of a focal technology induces technological complementarities and creates a need to continuously re-design policies. This underscores the continued benefit of a technology system perspective, even as a technology matures.The revised TIS framework is applied to a case study of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia that explores how variable renewable electricity diffusion introduces structural tensions with existing electricity grids, requiring the use of complementary technologies that add storage and flexibility. Nova Scotia aggressively developed wind energy and built a high-voltage direct-current transmission line to import hydroelectricity that could back-up variable renewable energy sources like wind.