The importance of co‐ordination in national technology policy: Evidence from the Galileo project1

We assess the benefits from transatlantic collaboration in technology policy for publicly‐funded R&D space projects such as Galileo, a proposed European radio‐navigation space project. An industrial organisation methodology is employed to model negative security spillovers of ‘unilateral’ space projects such as Galileo, or space‐based anti‐ballistic missile defence, on the public sector of the other region (the US vs. the European Union). The findings imply that transatlantic co‐ordination in technology policy is required to allow the respective space industries (in the US and the European Union) to exploit the benefits of cross‐border strategic research partnerships (SRPs). This coordination not only reduces the costs of the respective programmes, but also addresses security concerns.     

Top‐Down e‐Infrastructure Meets Bottom‐Up Research Innovation: The Social Shaping of e‐Research

Abstract

Are advances in ICTs enabling positive transformations in academic research practices? This paper explores key themes emerging from a 2008 survey of researchers aimed at identifying use and non‐use of advanced ICTs for research. Deterministic perspectives on e‐Research suggest that new e‐infrastructures will reshape research in predictable ways, such as by fostering more collaboration. In contrast, social shaping perspectives lead to the expectation that existing practices and institutions will shape the ways in which e‐Research is employed. This exploratory study found that individual variations across researchers cluster into identifiable groupings of research practices, which help to illuminate involvement in e‐Research, and differences in methods and research software used across the disciplines. In line with a social shaping perspective, the findings suggest that, in the social sciences, top‐down visions of e‐infrastructure development need to be tied to the realities of bottom‐up patterns of innovation in approaches to e‐Research.     

National technology policy and computer production in Asia‐pacific countries

The relationship of technology policy to economic and industrial development has become a subject of debate between those who argue that market forces should determine how technology is produced and used and those who believe that government has a role in supporting investment in technology use and the development of high‐technology industries. This article looks at the effects of national technology policy in promoting the production of computer hardware and software in Asia‐Pacific countries during the 1980s. It also analyzes the relationship between various environmental factors and computer production and looks at the interaction between environment and policy. It finds three types of environmental factors associated with level of computer production: human resources, in the form of scientists and engineers; the presence of complementary industries, particularly electronics production; and expenditures on research and development. It also finds that hardware production is higher in countries with national computer plans but that software production does not appear to be associated with efforts by the government to promote the computer industry.     

Emerging electronic markets at e‐Business crossroads: competitive and regulatory issues in the electricity industry

Natural history depicts evidence of the dynamics of evolution, while fossil records permit the examination of change over time. Such records inform us also that change is never easy and does not occur without casualties. It seems that parallel observations may be advanced as the Internet and widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICT) have brought about new organizational forms, entirely new ways of organizing, as well as enabling novel processes. One casualty reflective of an evolutionary era is the dot‐com firms that have gone bust. As firms are moving along the evolutionary path of understanding and implementing these developments we need to come to grips with their design, management and impact. This contribution examines electronic markets and related off‐shoots as a coordination form and macro‐structure of information and communication systems within the electric power market. The basic notion of ‘electronic market’ is explored briefly. We recognize several forms in which such markets manifest themselves. The author emphasizes the role of competition in electronic markets, as well as the newly found role of intermediaries. Electronic markets in the electricity industry are examined in some detail, i.e. the electronic trading of electricity. This market demonstrates nicely the opportunities, but also potential pitfalls of electronic trading of this commodity, especially given relatively recent experiences with the electricity supply situation in the State of California, as well as the demise of Enron. A number of patterns, trading practices and regulatory concerns are highlighted. At the same time though similar underlying problems are applicable in all industrialized nations and selected examples are provided.     

Japonica Rice: Intellectual Property,Scientific Publishing and Data‐sharing1

Abstract

This article examines a series of controversies within the life sciences over data sharing. Part 1 focuses upon the agricultural biotechnology firm Syngenta publishing data on the rice genome in the journal Science, and considers proposals to reform scientific publishing and funding to encourage data sharing. Part 2 examines the relationship between intellectual property rights and scientific publishing, in particular copyright protection of databases, and evaluates the declaration of the Human Genome Organisation that genomic databases should be global public goods. Part 3 looks at varying opinions on the information function of patent law, and then considers the proposals of Patrinos and Drell to provide incentives for private corporations to release data into the public domain.     

Knowledge co-creation across national boundaries: trends and firms’ strategies

This paper examines the role, patterns, and characteristics of knowledge co-creation in a cross-border context and develops a theoretical framework to guide empirical exploration of the value of cross-border knowledge. The empirical results reveal an upward trend in the share of cross-border knowledge and show that cross-border knowledge is of higher quality than within-border knowledge in terms of having more forward and backward citations, more claims, and a shorter technology cycle time. Our study also reveals pronounced differences in knowledge co-creation patterns between the triad regions: Japan, Europe and the United States. Moreover, the analysis of three cases, IBM, Hitachi, and Bayer, demonstrates that instead of focusing on conflicts of interest, such leading firms cooperate with foreign competitors to address technological challenges and opportunities, penetrate foreign markets, defend their positions, and advance technological innovations. Overall, our findings provide new evidence regarding the importance of cross-border knowledge co-creation.     

Research and data-sharing policy in Sweden – neoliberal courses,forces and discourses*

ABSTRACT

The discourse of openness has proved to be a very powerful instrument for promoting new research policies and the (neoliberal) reforms of higher education in all so-called ‘advanced economies’. It has triggered positive democracy-, transparency-, and accountability-related associations when used in the context of politics, fair resource distribution when used in the sphere of public service, and free access to information and knowledge when used in the field of science and higher education. At the same time, international research shows that university autonomy is increasingly being attacked, reduced, and marginalized by the same policies. Power instances outside academia impose new criteria, such as ‘accountability,’ ‘performance,’ ‘quality assurance,’ and ‘good practice.’ They also impose ideas about what good research is, which scientific method is to be prioritized, and what good data are. The process of the de-professionalization, polarization, and proletarianization of the academic profession is increasingly affecting academia. However, none of this has much in common with the open-access discourse. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how this discussion applies to Sweden. Courses, forces, and discourses of the national research infrastructure development policy in general, and qualitative data preservation policy in particular, are described and deliberated.     

Environmental innovations in services: Manufacturing–services integration and policy transmissions

This paper investigates the relevant factors behind the almost unexplored realm of environmental innovation in services, using a dataset of 8161 Italian service firms. Specifically, we test whether manufacturing-services integration matters for environmental innovations. In addition, taking account for the heterogeneity of the service industries, we analyse whether environmental policies for manufacturing transmit ‘induced innovation’ effects to services. Our findings show that: (i) the drivers of environmental innovations related to carbon abatement and energy efficiency differ across industries, and (ii) cooperation, training, environmental management systems and public funding play key roles in these processes. The integration of services and manufacturing through push and pull-effects, and the environmental policy transmission effect from manufacturing to services, generally do not seem to have a positive impact on the diffusion of environmental innovations.     

Rethinking disability in Amartya Sen’s approach: ICT and equality of opportunity

This article presents an analysis of the concept of disability in Amartya Sen’s capabilities and functionings approach in the context of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Following a critical review of the concept of disability—from its traditional interpretation as an essentially medical concept to its later interpretation as a socially constructed category—we will introduce the concept of functional diversity. The importance of human diversity in the capabilities and functionings approach calls for incorporating this concept into the analysis of well-being and quality of life in persons with disability—aspects in which ICT currently plays a major role. When one contemplates these technologies, it becomes clear that factors such as accessibility, design for all, and user participation in development and implementation processes are key strategies in promoting equal rights and equal opportunity for persons with disability in the different environments of the information society.     

Policies,actors and sustainability transition pathways: A study of the EU’s energy policy mix

Policies and politics are crucial elements of sustainability transitions. Transition pathways unfold as a result of continuous struggles of actors over policy goals and instruments. Taking a policy mix perspective, we study policies and policy preferences of key industry actors in the ongoing energy transition at the level of the European Union. We introduce two central analytical dimensions for transition pathways: the degree of sustainability (here: renewable energy ambition) and the degree of disruption (here: whether to pursue centralized or decentralized energy system configurations). We find that the current EU energy policy mix is heterogeneous with respect to the issue of (de-)centralization, whereas most policies and actors express high or moderate ambitions for renewable energy. Our paper makes three contributions. It demonstrates how actors and policy preferences can be explicitly included in the study of policy mixes. To the literature on transition pathways, we introduce sustainability as another key dimension in addition to disruption. Lastly, we propose a novel methodology for analyzing the politics of transition pathways.     

Sectoral Transformation in the Photovoltaics Industry in Australia,Germany and Japan: Contrasting the Co‐evolution of Actors,Knowledge, Institutions and Markets 1

This paper studies the evolution of the photovoltaics industry in Australia, Germany and Japan taking a comparative perspective. A modification of the sectoral innovation system framework is used to discuss: knowledge and technologies, actors and interactions, institutions and funding, development of markets and technological structure, as a way to understand the changes. In the process of transition from niche to mass production, national players have specialised in different activities, and the institutions’ building block has been a key determinant. In the case of Australia, it is also the least developed area which ultimately exposes the country to losing its innovation benefits.     

How do policy instruments generate new ones? Analysing policy instruments feedback and interaction in educational research in England, 1986-2014

The study of research funding arrangements and the production of scientific knowledge has been marked by a lack of understanding about how research funding instruments interact and how these instruments shape policy-making and research fields. To fill this research gap, this study is theoretically supported by policy feedback and policy instruments’ interaction studies. It investigates the effects of the UK's research assessment exercise in the creation of the most emblematic national thematic research program for the field of educational research in the country – the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP). Based on qualitative analysis of policy documents and semi-structured interviews with policy-makers and boundary-spanners, this paper shows how the research assessment exercise contributed to the creation of the TLRP and how the interaction between the two policy instruments shaped the field of educational research in England. In particular, the results show a) how the institutionalisation of the research assessment led to frame a “quality problem” in educational research that legitimated several policy initiatives, including the creation of the national thematic research programme (interpretative effects) and a shift in resources allocation (resource/incentive effects); and b) how the interaction between the two policy instruments contributed to methodological and epistemic drifts in the field of educational research.     

Universities and government‐sponsored contract research: an Australian case study

Based on interviews, this article provides a case study of the experiences of academic staff at one Australian regional university in undertaking contract research projects sponsored by government departments and agencies. Academics from a surprisingly diverse range of disciplines are attracted to government‐sponsored research for a variety of reasons but particularly important is the financial support provided for research projects and postgraduate research students. Projects vary in scale, amounts of funding involved and purposes, with research activities covering a wide range of different activities including collection and analysis of data, provision of documentation on good practice, design of implementation strategies, evaluations, organisational reviews and policy recommendations. Overall, respondents are highly positive about their experiences, despite problems such as delays in payment of funds, inappropriately restricted timelines, frequent changes in senior agency personnel, unrealistic expectations, and restrictions in the use of data and publication of results. While many academics from different disciplines provide policy recommendations and carry out evaluative studies, few are well informed about the extent to which their work is actually utilised.     

Inter‐firm Migration of Tacit Knowledge: Law and Policy1

Abstract

Much knowledge is diffused by the exchange of property rights in intangibles. But tacit knowledge, not being subject to property rights, is instead diffused by migration of knowledgeable individuals between firms. The law impacts significantly on this diffusion mechanism, in particular those rules that determine the use individuals may make of their tacit knowledge after migration to a different firm. The general principle underlying the relevant law is that individuals are free to migrate with all their tacit knowledge. Nonetheless there are some narrow exceptions to this principle. That these exceptions remain narrow and carefully policed by the courts is important because imposing too many restraints on use of tacit knowledge post‐term would have a negative impact on real innovation.     

Opinion Paper: “So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities,challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research,practice and policy

Transformative artificially intelligent tools, such as ChatGPT, designed to generate sophisticated text indistinguishable from that produced by a human, are applicable across a wide range of contexts. The technology presents opportunities as well as, often ethical and legal, challenges, and has the potential for both positive and negative impacts for organisations, society, and individuals. Offering multi-disciplinary insight into some of these, this article brings together 43 contributions from experts in fields such as computer science, marketing, information systems, education, policy, hospitality and tourism, management, publishing, and nursing. The contributors acknowledge ChatGPT’s capabilities to enhance productivity and suggest that it is likely to offer significant gains in the banking, hospitality and tourism, and information technology industries, and enhance business activities, such as management and marketing. Nevertheless, they also consider its limitations, disruptions to practices, threats to privacy and security, and consequences of biases, misuse, and misinformation. However, opinion is split on whether ChatGPT’s use should be restricted or legislated. Drawing on these contributions, the article identifies questions requiring further research across three thematic areas: knowledge, transparency, and ethics; digital transformation of organisations and societies; and teaching, learning, and scholarly research. The avenues for further research include: identifying skills, resources, and capabilities needed to handle generative AI; examining biases of generative AI attributable to training datasets and processes; exploring business and societal contexts best suited for generative AI implementation; determining optimal combinations of human and generative AI for various tasks; identifying ways to assess accuracy of text produced by generative AI; and uncovering the ethical and legal issues in using generative AI across different contexts.     

Review Article: Resistance is Futile—The Future and Post‐humanity

Philip Pullman writes books for children. His best known is probably the His Dark Materials trilogy, Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. His most contentious probably The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. He writes not so much to explain as to allow the reader’s own imagination to work on his words. The same purpose is at the core of his belief in the value of public libraries. The debate on the role and future of public libraries in the UK was marked by the accusation that authors had their own interests in mind when they objected to library closures. Philip Pullman leapt to the attack. This is an edited version of his mauling of Oxfordshire County Council.     

Political uncertainty and innovation: The relative effects of national leaders’ education levels and regime systems on firm-level patent applications

We explore the effect of political uncertainty on innovation. In particular, we examine the differential effects of two sources of uncertainty – leaders’ education levels and political regimes (i.e., presidential vs. parliamentary) – on patent applications. We posit that firms react to political uncertainty caused by the unexpected departure of a national leader by investing in patents as growth options. The empirical design analyzes a panel with information from over 62 million patent applications at the aggregated applicant level. Results show that leaders’ unexpected departures cause, on average, increases of approximately 9% in the aggregate growth of patent applications. We also find that the leader’s level of education and the country’s political regime system have significant effects on the relationship between political uncertainty and innovation. The difference between leaders with high and low levels of education accounts for 21% of the change in the growth of patent applications. Further, the effect of political uncertainty on innovation is amplified in presidential systems, which grant leaders more power and make electoral transitions less predictable. The differences between presidential and parliamentary systems account for approximately 16% of the change in the growth of patent applications. As a robustness check, we utilized a subsample of more than 170,000 firms with local and foreign patent applications, as well as a panel of over 5700 government non-profits, universities, and hospitals with local patent applications. Consistent with our theory, the former react to political uncertainty by investing in patents, while the latter remain unaffected. We contribute by showing the theoretical mechanisms linking leader and regime characteristics with patent applications.