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Coevolutionary cycles of convergence: an extrapolation from ICT industry
Hacklin, Fredrik Marxt, Christian Fahrni, F.
Hacklin, Fredrik
Marxt, Christian
Fahrni, F.
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Publication Type
Journal article with impact factor
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Supervisor
Publication Year
2009
Journal
Technology Forecasting and Social Change
Book
Publication Volume
76
Publication Issue
6
Publication Begin page
723
Publication End page
736
Publication Number of pages
Collections
Abstract
Convergence between technologies can be regarded as an increasingly emerging trend, and has received particular attention in the coming-together of previously distinct products and solutions within the information and communication technologies (ICT) industry. In previous research, the overall impact of the convergence phenomenon remains ambiguous. Whereas some scholars suggest convergence to be associated with disintegration, entry and growth, others relate the phenomenon to opposite effects, such as consolidation and shakeouts. This inconsistency in managerial conceptions on convergence formulates a need for an integrated understanding. Within a multi-case study approach, the convergence within ICT has been observed through examining the coevolution of actors in a converging environment, and patterns in innovation dynamics and managerial responses have been identified. In reflection with existing models of innovation cycles, a model for convergence innovation processes is elaborated and discussed. In particular, the reasoning within the ICT case set is transferred onto the currently emerging entrepreneurial activities in the intersection between nano- and bio-technologies (NBT), resulting in a comparison between ICT and NBT convergences, and deriving recommendations from a retrospective to a predictive context.
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Keywords
Convergence, Innovation Process, Coevolutionary Cycles, ICT, Nanotechnology, Multiple-case Study