Title: Managing changes to integrative technologies – the case of biophotonics

Authors: Guido Benzler, Rudiger Wink

Addresses: Deloitte Consulting, Schwannstr. 6, 40476 Dusseldorf, Germany. ' HTWK Leipzig, Postfach 301166, 04251 Leipzig, Germany

Abstract: During the last decade, a paradigmatic change from specialised technologies to more integrative technologies took place. This change means that not only cooperation between scientists from different disciplines is necessary, but the merging of organisational routines, cognitive frames and knowledge from technological paradigms with different historical roots, application patterns and |cultures|. Biophotonics is an example necessitating the integration of competences from biotechnology, optical industries and medical devices and still being in a state of market forecasts. The paper presents an overview of recent approaches in the US, Germany, France and the UK with different political frameworks and private institutional settings. It is an analysis of which institutional solutions are chosen to overcome the barriers to integration, the prerequisites of change in incumbent companies and the relevance of internationalisation. The theoretical analysis is based on an innovation system model integrating organisational learning theories.

Keywords: biophotonics; integrative technologies; mode 2; organisational change; innovation systems; change management; biotechnology; optical industries; medical devices; integration barriers; organisational learning; competence; governance; openness; knowledge management; organisational design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLC.2005.007995

International Journal of Learning and Change, 2005 Vol.1 No.1, pp.11 - 27

Published online: 24 Oct 2005 *

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