Title: Direction or mediation? Nexus’ role in technology adoption

Authors: Max Regenfelder; André P. Slowak

Addresses: Graduate School of Excellence advanced Manufacturing Engineering (GSaME), University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany. ' Center for International Management and Innovation, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany

Abstract: Despite a nowadays rich tradition in evolutionary socio-economic studies, historic Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) studies and sociological studies, we find a research gap in explaining how collaborative R&D consortia initiate technological change at the regulatory arena. We refer to those consortia as social groups. In the observed R&D project, firms established a new organisation as nexus between collaborative research and policymakers. Their aim is to shape both technology and selection environment. That nexus incorporates firms promoting two different competing technological trajectories; thus, its policy mandate is ambiguous.

Keywords: social construction of technology; nexus; standard setting; automotive innovation; collaborative R&D; research and development; innovation; technological change; regulation; policy making.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2011.043071

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2011 Vol.5 No.2/3, pp.142 - 158

Received: 12 Nov 2010
Accepted: 05 Aug 2011
Published online: 13 Oct 2011 *

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