Industrial Research Institutes’ Collaboration: a three-way solution to integrating new research skills

Dzamila Bienkowska () and Katarina Larsen
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Dzamila Bienkowska: KTH and HELIX
Katarina Larsen: KTH

No 179, Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation from Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies

Abstract: Innovation processes in emerging fields of technology frequently utilize scientific knowledge and technical skills from several research areas. Likewise, technological development frequently involves a diverse set of organizations including for example private firms, universities, corporate research labs and public or semi-public research and technology organizations (RTOs). These processes spur the need for both organizational and institutional change and adjustment, e.g. in order to facilitate research and development (R&D) and formation of innovation networks. The main question analyzed in the paper is how RTOs cope with integrating new skills in their competence base in the quest for exploring new emerging science fields and technology applications. The empirical setting consists of Swedish semi-public industrial research institutes active in the fields of pulp & paper technology and electronics, optics & communication technology respectively. The results of the study bring attention to three ways of integrating diverse skills and types of actors in R&D networks. These are: organization of collaborative research in formalized industry-specific R&D programs, purposeful organizational change also including redefinition of categories of core research competence and finally by targeting ‘open’ innovation processes characterized by incorporation of both end-users and skills of neighboring technology areas.

Keywords: Industrial research institutes; Innovation networks; Emerging technology; RTOs; Collaborative R&D; Interdisciplinary; Innovation policy; management and organization; Sweden (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L20 L33 L52 L80 L84 O25 O31 O32 O38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-ino, nep-knm and nep-ppm
Date: 2009-04-22

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