title: comparing the knowledge bases of wind turbine firms in asia and europe: patent trajectories, networks, and globalization
speaker: yuan zhou，assistant professor at the school of public policy and management, tsinghua university
time: 21：00-22:30, april 23, 2015
venue: room 302, school of public policy and management, tsinghua university
introduction
this paper compares the knowledge bases of lead wind turbine firms across asia and europe, which may imply different innovation competitiveness for future pathways. it compares (a) the trajectories of key technologies, (b) the external knowledge networks, and (c) the globalization of knowledge application. the paper finds that the knowledge bases are highly different between european and asian lead firms. we find that european lead firms have broader and deeper knowledge bases than their asian counterparts. european firms stand out as technology leaders as well as strong knowledge producers with a global reach. indian suzlon has successfully integrated a european knowledge base and stands out as a strong european competitor. by contrast, chinese lead firms have narrower knowledge bases, more limited and unidirectional knowledge networks and are highly domestic in orientation with respect to the application of new knowledge. our quantitative analyses provide both empirical validations of prior qualitative inquiries as well as fresh insights. our findings suggest that european lead firms are likely to continue to be first movers in the creation of new technology pathways. chinese firms may have limited opportunities for technological leapfrogging in the near future. however, through adopting selective knowledge base strengthening strategies, asian lead firms may challenge european firms within the established trajectories.
bio
yuan zhou (joseph) is an assistant professor at the school of public policy and management, tsinghua university, china. he also serves as the assistant director of chinese institute of engineering development strategies. his recent research interests include public policy, innovation policy, and technology innovation management. his ongoing projects involve “analysis of public demonstration projects for strategic emerging industries in china”, “strategic roadmapping methods for new energy technologies in china”, “technological trajectories for climate change mitigation in europe, china and lndia”, and “high-value engineering network in europe and china”, etc.. based on these projects, he has published several papers in technological forecasting & social change, international journal of technology management, and china management studies, etc. yuan zhou (joseph) got his b.eng and m.sc from nanyang technological university in singapore, and ph.d. from the university of cambridge in the uk.