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This article captures the effects of technology diffusion on innovation under duopoly competition. With the game theory approach, some interesting results are achieved. First, technology diffusion stimulates innovation and firms launch innovation to share more market size. Second, firms under unilateral innovation launch less innovation than that under bilateral innovation. Finally, neither firms' innovation constitutes a Nash equilibrium and subsidy may transfer this equilibrium to a new equilibrium that both firms innovate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convergence/divergence debate and plausible explanations to the process of catching-up remain highly controversial research areas in growth economics. Recently, these issues have been the subject of questionable predictions with regard future prospect for backward countries, raising concerns about the right direction of macroeconomic policy. To explore these issues, a sample of 131 countries is studied over the 1950s–2010s to identify those that have managed to catching-up, remain stagnant, or keep lagging further behind. Time-distance to the frontier and productivity decompositions, based on non-parametric methods, suggest that some countries have successfully completed already the caching-up, and it would take between 27 and 194 years for others to do so in the most optimistic scenario. But many others would never do. Policy implications drawn from the comparative analysis suggests the need to strengthen local innovation in order to increase the ability to catching-up alongside widespread reliance on technology diffusion from abroad.

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the key anchors of the National Innovation System shaping the nature of collaboration between academic high-performance computing centres (academic HPC centres) and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in the automotive and electronics sectors of the Danube region. With two main research questions, it discusses the importance of knowledge transfer and technology transfer for collaboration between University and Industry (U-I collaboration) in three groups of developmentally distinct countries: competitively advanced, competitively intermediate and competitively lagging. As main anchors of the innovation system, stable legal environment, exciting innovation policies and strong R&D funding are recognised. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative empirical study in 14 Danube region countries included 92 focus group participants, expert representatives of academic HPC centres and SMEs. The data were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed. Findings – The findings show the main prerequisites of the framework conditions for efficient U-I collaboration evolve through a goal-oriented National Innovation Policy and developed and functioning legal environment supporting labour market and intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement. Additionally, skilled people are needed to be able to operate with HPC, where it seems all the countries lack such skilled workforce. In competitively lagging countries, the high levels of brain drain exhibit strong impact to U-I collaboration. Research limitations/implications – Research into relationships between academic HPC centres and SMEs conducted was qualitative; therefore, limitations in terms of generalisation arise from it. On the other hand, the research is promising in terms of offering the guidance for policy makers who can use the findings when delivering innovation policy mix, adjusted to developmental level of own innovation ecosystem. Originality/value – The study is among the pioneering work in U-I collaboration between academic HPC centres and SMEs from automotive and electronics industries in the Danube region. The research addresses the dynamics of collaboration and offers policy implications to strengthen the particular U-I collaboration. 研究目的 – 本文旨在探究國家創新系統的主要支柱; 這些支柱決定了學術性的高速網路與計算中心 (註: 此為直譯) (以下簡稱學術高網算中心) 與於多瑙河地區的汽車製造業和電子產品行業內營運的中小型企業之間的合作性質。本文透過兩條主要的研究問題、去探討知識轉移和技術轉讓對大學與產業界之間的合作的重要性而這些產業是屬於在發展階段上三個明顯不同的國家組別裏的這三個組別是 競爭先進的、競爭性中級的和競爭落後的。穩定的法律環境、令人興奮的創新政策和強大的研究與開發資金被認為是創新系統的三個主要支柱。 研究設計 – 研究人員在14個位於多瑙河地區的國家裏進行一個質性觀察研究研究涵蓋92個焦點小組參與者、來自學術高網算中心和中小型企業的專家代表。有關的數據被錄音繼而被轉寫下來最後被分析。 研究結果 – 研究結果顯示效率高的大學產業界合作的框架條件的主要先決條件是透過一個以目標為導向的國家創新政策而逐漸形成繼而發展起來; 另外所需的條件是一個支援勞工市場、保障知識產權、並執行有關的法律的正常運作的法律環境。其次若想與學術高網算中心一起工作技術人才是必須的因學術高網算中心內的所有國家似乎欠缺技術勞動力。在落後於競爭對手的國家裏高度的人才外流對大學與產業界之間的合作會產生重大的影響。 研究的局限/啟示 – 由於研究採用的研究方法為質性研究法故研究結果、就普遍化的歸納而言是有其局限的。唯研究結果在實務方面有其作用因政策制定者在推行與科技進步與對策有關的策略時他們可把研究結果作為指引就其自身創新生態系統的發展水準而作出適當的調整。 研究的原創性/價值 – 本研究探討涉及學術高網算中心與於多瑙河地區的汽車製造業和電子產品行業內營運的中小型企業之間合作的大學產業界合作就此而言可說是開創性研究之一。本研究探究有關的大學產業界合作的變革動力並為政策制定者提供啟示以能強化有關的合作。

Zvi Griliches was one of the leading econometricians of his generation. His early work involved empirical analyses of the sources of productivity growth in twentieth-century US agriculture, including his dissertation on the diffusion of hybrid corn and his analysis of the long-run growth in fertilizer use by US farmers. In this research Griliches developed theoretical explanations of these phenomena in the form of narratives of rational, profit-seeking people responding to changing circumstances and novel information, and he used these narratives to inform his decisions about what statistical techniques to employ and how to implement them. Narratives served the same purposes for Griliches that mathematical models were coming to serve in the work of his contemporaries, but they made more sense for Griliches, given his belief that he was analyzing transitions between economic equilibria, a process for which economists had not developed useful mathematical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of barriers to knowledge diffusion in energy technologies in 29 countries from 1990 to 2015, distinguishing between efficient fossil-based generation and mature renewable options, namely wind and solar. We show that knowledge flows are higher in countries with similar technological profiles, particularly for mature renewables. The study finds that international knowledge spillovers have increased in intensity for wind and solar, while the opposite is true for fossil-based technologies. That means that foreign knowledge has increasingly informed domestic investors and points to the key role that knowledge flows from abroad had in promoting innovation in low-carbon technology options. Integrated assessment models should account for the role international knowledge spillovers play in the generation of new knowledge and in contributing to rapid decrease in costs.

This study aims to analyze the perception of mom entrepreneurs of the region of Triângulo Mineiro (State of Minas Gerais - Brazil) about the use of ICTs in their businesses. A quantitative approach with application of online questionnaires was adopted. The main results show that respondents have used ICTs to support their management activities. However, the results also reveal that many respondents, even using ICTs in their businesses, do not necessarily feel comfortable in using these technologies to support their activities. The study reinforces the benefits of contemporary technologies to support the management process, but also reveals a scenario that can motivate training and qualification actions to optimize the benefits from ICTs in the Triângulo Mineiro region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose – Sustainability is increasingly becoming an essential aspect of technological innovations. In addition, the diffusion of sustainable new technology-based products appears to be uneven across the globe. The authors examine the effect of three country-level Hofstede measures of culture and two national-level innovation characteristics on the diffusion of Sustainable New Technology-based Products (SNTP). Design/methodology/approach – Regression and Necessary Conditions Analysis were used to analyze a panel dataset of electric and hybrid vehicles sales from 2008 to 2017 across 89 countries. Findings – Results suggest Long-Term Orientation (LTO) was correlated with SNTP diffusion, Indulgence (IVR) was partially correlated with SNTP diffusion and was also a necessary condition. Surprisingly, Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) was not correlated with SNTP diffusion. In addition, a national proclivity for developing innovations and a history of utilizing prior generic innovations were both correlated and necessary for SNTP diffusion. Originality/value – This paper measures the impact of several macro-level variables (culture and other innovation related characteristics of countries) on SNTP diffusion. In addition to regression analyses to measure the average effect size, the authors conduct Necessary Conditions Analysis, which assesses the necessity of a variable for the outcome. These insights may help multinational companies better strategize entry decisions for international markets and aid governments in formulating more effective policies by recognizing and accommodating the influences of national culture and innovation attitudes.

The article presents a novel method that enables the formation of historical patent families. Patent families are useful for studying the value of inventions and identifying key technologies, as they indicate geographic diffusion and higher patenting costs. The concept of patent family has not been employed in historical contexts as historical sources generally lack information about priority rights. The article provides a definition of a historical patent family, where patent families incorporate patents with the same invention core. The method is applied and evaluated by constructing Swedish patent families in 1885–1914 with historical patent data from Finland and the United States. Moreover, the article introduces the Patent Diffusion Index (PDI), which is an indicator of historical patent families which can be used to study the sequence and pace of market entry. The article exemplifies how historical patent families open novel perspectives on patent value and technology diffusion in contrast to current indicators, such as patent fees, which usually are bound to national contexts. The method is applicable to any national patent data, and patent drawings are suggested as an effective way to form historical patent families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both theoretical and empirical work reports contingent and conflicting findings on how intellectual property (IP) protection affects related outcomes such as innovation, technology diffusion, productivity, or growth. To establish where the balance of the evidence lies, we conduct a multi‐outcome meta‐regression analysis to synthesize findings form 91 primary studies that report 1626 effect‐size estimates for one or more outcomes. Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity and selection bias only, we find that the effect on innovation, technology diffusion, productivity, and economic growth is statistically or practically insignificant. The effect remains insignificant when we control for observed sources of heterogeneity and estimate meta‐effects based on different scenarios for "best‐practice" research. Our work contributes to the existing research effort by extending the application of the multi‐outcome meta‐regression analysis into evidence synthesis in economics. It also provides verifiable/replicable evidence indicating that the sanguine claims about the economic benefits of IP protection voiced in some legal studies and the advocacy literature are misleading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the effects of unanticipated technological shocks across the most innovative economies in the world. We examine who leads and follows in the global technological race and how technological shocks in one country shape innovation activity in another. We put forward a useful approach in modeling the dynamic interdependencies of knowledge spillovers across countries, which exploits the modeling capabilities of the so-called network Global Vector Auto-Regressive (GVAR) framework. Our empirical evidence, on a selected panel of most innovative world economies over the period 1986–2013, show that the USA and China are the dominant countries in the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study how endogenous innovation and technology diffusion interact to determine the shape of the productivity distribution and generate aggregate growth. We model firms that choose to innovate, adopt technology, or produce with their existing technology. Costly adoption creates a spread between the best and worst technologies concurrently used to produce similar goods. The balance of adoption and innovation determines the shape of the distribution; innovation stretches the distribution, while adoption compresses it. On the balanced growth path, the aggregate growth rate equals the maximum growth rate of innovators. While innovation drives long‐run growth, changes in the adoption environment can influence growth by affecting innovation incentives, either directly, through licensing of excludable technologies, or indirectly, via the option value of adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent technological advancements entail immense changes and lead to a new era. One of the main change agents of this new era is internet of things technologies. The term “internet of things” (IoT) indicates objects having an identity and having ubiquitous connection with each other. Notwithstanding the novelty of the concept, it captured the interest of many scholars and practitioners. The subject area has not been analyzed profoundly from the consumers’ point of view. Whenever potential users face a new technology, they experience an acceptation process. In this study, how this new concept is perceived by the consumers is scrutinized. Consumer perspective of IoT is studied through Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). TAM introduced perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, as significant determinants for a potential user to have behavioral intention to use a new technology. Data were analyzed through Structural Equational Modeling (SEM).

The main aim of this article is to demonstrate that in a dynamically changing business environment, an organization should focus on embracing imitation strategies such as a safer form of building up its market position. The author addresses issues of innovation and imitation, provides definitions and defines realistic conditions and advantages of imitation strategies. Innovation does not guarantee a company's market success. The research conducted has shown that imitation is not only a commonly used strategy of creating competitiveness, but it is also the foundation of many firms’ success stories. Innovative imitation, technological diffusion, creative imitation should be treated equally as innovation – as a another development strategy, different form of strategy implementation, assuming less risk and wider market access with less risk and cost.

The aim of the paper is to investigate the effect of a new international estimate of human capital on the process of innovation and technology catch-up in developed countries. The new human capital variable is a measure of average human capital efficiency per hour worked that considers the role of both the quantity and quality of education. Our methodology is based on the framework proposed by Jess Benhabib and Mark A. Spiegel (2005) that uses a logistic function of technology diffusion. The analysis employs panel econometrics and tackles the endogeneity bias. Empirical results show robust evidence of the significance of this human capital variable as a driver of innovation and diffusion. The effects of cognitive skills on technological progress are higher the closer the economies are to the technology frontier. Furthermore, as technological progress has been measured using the improved total factor productivity (TFP) variables built in Penn World Table (PWT) 8.0, we confirm the existence of social returns to human capital.

• Being a water stressed country, South Africa has become one of the leading countries in the production of water technological knowledge. • Many local innovations have not achieved their potential commercial success. • Policy measures are necessary to foster diffusion of local water technologies. • Partnerships with industrial operators can help overcome innovation diffusion hurdles. Because of its long experience with water scarcity, South Africa has built a highly active research and innovation capacity in the water sector, which is spearheaded by the Water Research Commission (WRC). As a result, South African scientists have been among the significant contributors to new knowledge creation in the water innovation domain, especially in water treatment technologies. This innovation dynamism has however not been translated into a large-scale harnessing of technological innovations to avert the looming threat of water shortage. This paper combines innovation diffusion theory with the technology maturation framework to explore the main factors that help explain the pace of innovation diffusion in the South African water sector. Data from key informant interview analysis as well as available secondary sources indicate that financing constraints and technical validation difficulties are among the main hurdles limiting the ability of innovators to scale up their inventions for commercialisation. Adoption costs and lack of municipal support budget are the most important factors that limit the ability of low income rural households to adopt water innovations. Policy measures to support diffusion strategies are necessary to ensure that innovators have the means to overcome the multiple diffusion obstacles that they are confronted with. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slow adoption rates of innovation in rural settings are a source of frustration for technology advocates. Adoption decisions consume two valuable but limited resources: (1) time, and (2) capacity to integrate new information. We explore the structural sociological factors using a heterogeneous agent programming model (HAM) to understand the mechanics of socio-economic linkages of diffusion in rural settings. Diffusion constraints are introduced in the form of network-threshold values that reflect the cumulative effects of experience and observation of peers' experiences. We test a range of confounding factors and find that strong social pressures dramatically increase both innovation diffusion penetration and irregularity. Clustering is caused by strong social pressures and the aggregation of buyers near innovative firms which creates a pattern of buying explosions. As competition between innovators increases, the resulting diffusion process becomes more variable and irregular and is highly likely to result in innovation monopolies in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature and the resource-based theory, this paper develops an integrative research model for assessing the diffusion and consequence of e-business at the firm level. Unlike the typical focus on adoption as found in the literature, we focus on postadoption stages, that is, actual usage and value creation. The model thus moves beyond dichotomous "adoption versus nonadoption" and accounts for the "missing link" - actual usage - as a critical stage of value creation. The model links technological, organizational, and environmental factors to e-business use and value, based on which a series of hypotheses are developed. The theoretical model is tested by using structural equation modeling on a dataset of 624 firms across 10 countries in the retail industry. To probe deeper into whether e-business use and value are influenced by economic environments, two subsamples from developed and developing countries are compared. The study finds that technology competence, firm size, financial commitment, competitive pressure, and regulatory support are important antecedents of e-business use. In addition, the study finds that, while both front-end and back-end capabilities contribute to e-business value, back-end integration has a much stronger impact. While front-end functionalities are becoming commodities, e-businesses are more differentiated by back-end integration. This is consistent with the resource-based theory because back-end integration possesses the value-creating characteristics of resources (e.g., firm specific, difficult to imitate), which are strengthened by the Internet-enabled connectivity. Our study also adds an international dimension to the innovation diffusion literature, showing that careful attention must be paid to the economic and regulatory factors that may affect technology diffusion across different countries. © 2005 INFORMS.

Highlights • Structural factors shape farmers' perceptions of integrated crop livestock systems. • Adopters perceived large advantages from adopting ICLS, while most non-adopters did not. • Supply chain and labor market limitations are perceived adoption barriers. • Perceived unsupportive regulations and preferences for existing traditions also impede adoption. • Improved credit, land tenure, infrastructure, and rural education may improve adoption. Abstract Sustainable intensification of existing global croplands and rangelands is a pressing challenge to reconcile competing demands on land systems for food production and conservation of natural ecosystems. In Brazil, the world's second-largest beef-producing country, intensification of pasture-based production systems is central to both improving livelihoods and reducing deforestation, since low-productivity, low-income cattle ranches occupy a majority of the agricultural land area. Integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) present a promising opportunity in the array of possible agricultural intensification strategies for Brazil because they have the potential to reclaim vast areas of degraded pastures while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Much of the previous research on ICLS, particularly in Brazil, has focused on agronomic and economic aspects. Here we examine local perspectives of ICLS to better illuminate what other concerns, besides agronomic and economic outcomes, might guide farmers' decisions to adopt this (and other) agricultural intensification strategies. We are particularly interested in the degree to which structural factors interact with personal experiences to shape information and values and farmers' understanding of the costs and benefits of adopting a new technology. Using semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of producers in four states in the Brazilian Amazon, we find that existing adopters perceived ICLS as a beneficial strategy for increasing the economic value and competitiveness of their farm, while most non-adopters did not. Ranchers in particular perceived intensification as a necessity to maintain their livelihood amidst declining profits and increased environmental oversight. However, both adopters and non-adopters described numerous structural barriers that impeded greater adoption of ICLS in the region, including problems obtaining qualified labor, a lack of marketing options, poor infrastructure, an unsupportive regulatory environment, and in some regions, poorly drained soils. Furthermore, non-monetary motives, such as maintaining one's existing quality of life and traditions, often drove decisions regardless of expected profit-maximization pathways. This work underscores the need to employ a more diverse set of policy tools beyond credit subsidies to encourage adoption of sustainable intensification strategies, including education programs, payments for the ecosystem services, and improved transportation and supply chain infrastructure that can support intensification and help create a climate of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of human capital on the process of innovation and technology catch-up in European Union countries. Based on the framework proposed by Benhabib and Spiegel (in: Aghion and Durlauf (eds) Handbook of economic growth, 1A, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 2005), a panel data model is estimated from 1950 to 2011 using the improved total factor productivity and human capital variables included in PWT 8.0. Following Vandenbussche et al. (J Econ Growth 11(2):97-127, 2006) we also analyse the differential impact of skilled and unskilled human capital on growth. The empirical analysis applies instrumental variables panel data methods which resolve the endogeneity bias. Our results show robust evidence of the significant direct and indirect effects of human capital on the process of total factor productivity (TFP henceforth) growth in euro area countries. When we analyse the impact of different kinds of human capital on different ways of increasing TFP we conclude that, regardless of academic level, the quantity of unskilled human capital boosts imitation in EU countries while, by contrast, highly qualified human capital is essential for growth through innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of barriers to knowledge diffusion in energy technologies in 29 countries from 1990 to 2015, distinguishing between efficient fossil-based generation and mature renewable options, namely wind and solar. We show that knowledge flows are higher in countries with similar technological profiles, particularly for mature renewables. The study finds that international knowledge spillovers have increased in intensity for wind and solar, while the opposite is true for fossil-based technologies. That means that foreign knowledge has increasingly informed domestic investors and points to the key role that knowledge flows from abroad had in promoting innovation in low-carbon technology options. Integrated assessment models should account for the role international knowledge spillovers play in the generation of new knowledge and in contributing to rapid decrease in costs. • Knowledge flows play an important role in low-carbon innovation. • Knowledge flow in fossil-based generation and mature renewables is hampered by distance and language, not trade barriers. • International knowledge flows are comparatively higher in mature renewables than in fossil-based. • International knowledge spillovers in wind and solar intensify over time. • Ignoring international knowledge flow in IAMs underestimates a country's innovation potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the problem of adoption of new knowledge as the core factor of development and international competitiveness. Differences between countries in the level of GDP are largely caused by differences in the levels of technological development and the degree of productivity. R&D sectors and innovative activity are emerging as the key determinants of productivity growth and thus the international competitiveness of nations. The international diffusion of knowledge is an important contributor to the innovation in the national country. Different channels of knowledge diffusion have a different developmental potentials for the host country. FDI and TNCs investment are considered to be a large potential source of new technology and knowledge for host countries. The more technologies brought in the host country, the larger is the scope for technology and knowledge spillovers. Such effects may be significant, but they depend to a large extent on host countries' ability to accept and adopt available technologies and knowledge. If the technology gap between countries is too large, then the spillovers may not materialize.

Os direitos de propriedade intelectual constituem um instrumento de estímulo à inovação, embora possam também obstaculizar a difusão do conhecimento na economia. Este artigo discute tal conflito na área de software, onde a proteção por patentes é dificultada pelo fato dos ativos serem intangíveis e replicáveis praticamente sem custos. Tomando por base o caso latino-americano, as práticas de proteção à propriedade intelectual são discutidas à luz de sua eficácia enquanto instrumento de estímulo à inovação e difusão das tecnologias da informação. A metodologia utilizada inclui análise do desenvolvimento da indústria de software no subcontinente, das formas de proteção adotadas pelas empresas, das legislações existentes e exame das patentes de software submetidas ao Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial. O artigo conclui que é necessário harmonizar interesses conflitantes que transcendem o aspecto técnico, levando em consideração a necessidade de assegurar novos modelos de negócios e respeitar os acordos internacionais vigentes.Intellectual property rights aim at providing incentives for innovation, but can also constitute a burden for technological diffusion. This article discusses the conflicts arising from software patent protection, an area in which the assets are intangible and replicable at almost no cost. Current practices of intellectual property (IP) protection in Latin America are discussed based on their efficiency in stimulating information technologies innovation and diffusion. The methodology adopted includes the analysis of regional software industry development, firms' strategies to protect IP, legislation and the examination of software patents submission at the Brazilian IP Office (INPI). It concludes that harmonizing conflicting interests among existing and new business models and international agreements is a major task that goes beyond pure technical considerations.

This paper begins by surveying recent economic studies of the relationships between technology transfer, intellectual property, innovation and diffusion in emerging countries. It applies this literature to the Indian case. India has been experiencing rapid growth and has several high technology sectors staffed by an absolutely large and highly educated middle class. At the same time an even larger share of its very big population is still working in low productivity agriculture and many of these people are living in extreme poverty. Thus it needs to innovate and grow to employ its vast army of unskilled workers. The second part of the paper outlines how industry structure and innovative performance were progressing in India following the economic reforms of the early 1990s and the changes to intellectual property law occasioned by the TRIPS agreement. In the third section the focus turns to recent science, technology and innovation policy in India. A study of the country's potential for innovation by the World Bank in 2007 argued that India must proceed on two fronts. In addition to considering how India's growth prospects can be enhanced by world leading innovations, this volume placed great emphasis on inclusive innovation. This involves mainly the diffusion and absorption of existing knowledge, but is designed to improve the lot of the poor. The World Bank report proposed a number of new policy directions aimed at speeding up innovation and technology diffusion in India. We record what changes have been made to innovation policy, foreign direct investment policy and diffusion policy in India in recent years and assess whether these are likely to be effective in enhancing India's ability to innovate and achieve rapid growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on a novel phenomenon-mobile banking diffusion-to illuminate unresolved questions: whether and how rivalry adoption and market structure affect the diffusion of a new technology. Using a unique, hand-collected dataset from the iTunes Store for 2008-2012, this study provides evidence that the adoptions of mobile banking apps by local rivals spur future adoptions. This effect is particularly strong in concentrated markets, where banks compete on non-price attributes. These results are robust to the application of instrumental variables that address the possibility that adoptions are merely simultaneous reactions to the same common forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study developed epidemic models to predict the diffusion of remediation technology. Hypotheses were derived from the models and then tested using data collected from a questionnaire survey ( n = 223) and a qualitative interview ( n = 28) mainly conducted in the USA, UK, and China, as well as data from the US Superfund program. Hypothesis testing results indicate that: (1) tacit knowledge in innovative remedial technologies leads to logistic rather than exponential growth in their adoption, and (2) social-economic and regulatory factors affect the adoption of remediation technologies. For specific remedial technologies adopted in the US Superfund program, it was found that in-situ bioremediation (ISB) has a higher maximum adoption rate than in-situ chemical treatment (ISC), likely due to lower cost and higher social acceptance associated with ISB. The diffusion of ISC was found to be more rapid than that of ISB due to a greater degree of tacit knowledge associated with ISB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Will fast growing emerging economies sustain rapid growth rates until they 'catch-up' to the technology frontier? Are there incentives for some developed countries to free-ride off of innovators and optimally 'fall-back' relative to the frontier? This paper models agents growing as a result of investments in innovation and imitation. Imitation facilitates technology diffusion, with the productivity of imitation modeled by a catch-up function that increases with distance to the frontier. The resulting equilibrium is an endogenous segmentation between innovators and imitators, where imitating agents optimally choose to 'catch-up' or 'fall-back' to a productivity ratio below the frontier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory on the diffusion of mobile information and communication technology (ICT) is mainly focused on technology diffusion, while prerequisites to such diffusion are largely disregarded or taken for granted. Moreover, few constructs for the assessment of technology diffusion take into account the inherent link between technology and strategy analysis. This study proposes that analysing what comes prior to diffusion and use of technology – here defined as ‘technology activation’ – is equally important, so as to identify external, not user-related determinants that enable or hinder a value proposition based on the new technology. To fill the existing gap and extend technology diffusion theory upstream, the limitations of the technology–organisation–environment model and of other technology diffusion models are reviewed, together with external strategy analysis models, and an original model is proposed to address four macro-determinants that affect technology activation: Regulation, environment, strategy, technology (REST). The REST model is then applied to the Italian mobile location-based services market, to qualitatively validate its comprehensiveness. Conclusions are drawn on the opportunities to extend the mobile technology diffusion analysis process upstream, and to integrate technology analysis with existing research on strategy analysis, thus providing new momentum to mainstream research on innovation diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper develops a model to investigate the diffusion process of a cost-reducing process innovation within an industry. Two factors drive the diffusion process. First, the gradually declining production cost with the innovation makes the adoption of the innovation more profitable, and consequently motivates more firms to adopt it over time. Second, the switching from old technology to new technology requires suitable organizational knowledge, which is costly to acquire. This tends to slow down the diffusion. The interaction between the two factors determines the path and the speed of the diffusion process. The model is able to explain three observations in technology diffusion, including (1) the S-shaped diffusion path; (2) the rejection of an innovation by some firms; and (3) unprofitable technology adoption. A policy implication of the model is that, through subsidizing the transfer of relevant knowledge from adopters to non-adopters, government can facilitate the diffusion of innovations and improve social welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro combined-heat-and-power (micro-CHP) technology has potential to contribute significantly to the UK's climate change strategy. This study applies a technological innovation systems (TIS) analysis to the UK domestic micro-CHP sector to better understand the dynamics of this emerging technology, identify policy options for enhanced system development, while also assessing the effectiveness of the TIS framework as an analytical tool. Interviews with key system actors are used to understand system functions, enabling an analysis of system development over time in terms of inter-functional relations, and a brief comparison with the Dutch micro-CHP system. Specific policy recommendations are made, including clarification of government 'renewable' vs 'low-carbon' climate change mitigation objectives, establishing dedicated targets, incentives and supports for adoption, installation and industry representation. A critique of the TIS framework highlights the dangers of selectivity with regard to key functional patterns, underdevelopment of consumer influences, and insularity with respect to wider influences on innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]