مقاله سال ۲۰۱۶

Building on remarks by Schumpeter (1934) on the ‘combinatorial’ function of entrepreneurs and the conceptualisation of innovation as a combinatorial activity (Schumpeter, 1947; Nelson and Winter, 1982; Henderson and Clark, 1990; Arthur, 2007), the literature on innovation and technological change argues thattechnological spillovers among different industries crucially impact on the development of long term innovation activities (Rivera-Batiz and Romer, 1991; Klevorick et al., 1995). In particular, processes of exploration and search across distant knowledge domains have been associated with the development of discontinuous solutions and, ultimately, with novel technological trajectories (March, 1991; Gavetti and Levinthal, 2000; Fleming, 2001). These processes of knowledge exchange are especially relevant within a context characterised by an increasingly intricate and interconnected innovation environment leading to the multidimensional nature of emerging technological paradigms (Granstrand et al., 1997)

The fundamental issue inherent to the integration of distant knowledge is related to the complexity in the search process when opportunities reside in unrelated technologies and sectors defined ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: c.corradini@aston.ac.uk (C. Corradini), l.de propris@bham.ac.uk (L. De Propris). by rather different characteristics in terms of knowledge and competencies requiredfor innovation(Pavitt, 1984;Breschi et al., 2000), as prior related knowledge is crucial in defining the ability of firms to use and assimilate new information (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990). Thus, as firms’ absorptive capacities are bounded by the cumulative and path dependent nature of learning within determined technological trajectories (Nelson and Winter, 1982), the exploration and the combination of knowledge outside firms’ own industry increase substantially the uncertainty and risk inherent to the process of invention (Fleming, 2001). When this is achieved, rewards can be extraordinary. In particular, the integration of knowledge from different technology domains is associated with the development of radical and original inventions, constituting a fundamental element in the emergence of new technological trajectories and industries (Fleming, 2001; Schoenmakers and Duysters, 2010; Guerzoni et al., 2014). Similarly, it may represent an important elementin fostering resilience across mature technologies. Notable examples include the application of technologies related to the internal combustion engine as well as lasers and synthetic fibres to a wide array of high tech and low tech industries (Mowery and Rosenberg, 1998), or the creation of completely new fields such as optoelectronics through the fusion of optics and electronics technologies (Kodama, 1992).

Notwithstanding the emphasis on the benefits and importance of inter-sectoral cross-fertilisation and distant search, there is surprisingly little evidence on the elements shaping technolog ical integration as well as patent originality and the dynamics underpinning this process remain under researched. Economic scholars have provided empirical evidence of the importance of inter-sectoraltechnology spillovers using different approaches and data (Scherer, 1982; Verspagen, 1997). Yet, this strand of research has mainly focused on trying to quantify the process of knowledge flows in order to explore the impact of sectoral spillovers on productivity and economic growth (Griliches, 1992 Nadiri, 1993). Studies atthe firm level have discussed the use of novel and original technologies in the development of radical innovations (Ahuja and Morris Lampert, 2001). Others have considered the role of original inventions departing from established technological trajectories in studying different elements of firm performance, like growth and survival (Cohen et al., 2002; Jaffe et al., 2005). Scholars have also looked at the role of external knowledge acquisition and collaboration (Almeida and Kogut, 1999; Rosenkopf and Almeida, 2003; Nooteboom et al., 2007). However, the evolution and the specific dynamics of technological integration and synthesis at the micro level have received much less attention, with fundamental and abstract inventions representing a fusion of divergent ideas being traditionally associated with basic science in the form of public research (Nelson, 1959; March, 1991; Trajtenberg et al., 1997).