University of Cambridge
The Early Stages of Collaborative Commercialisation of Science: What Enables and Constrains the Development of Generic Technologies
Abstract
dc:description.abstractAbstract This dissertation examines the early stages of the commercialisation of science jointly developed by academia and industry. It addresses the following research question: How do particular developments of the same generic technology come to predominate during the early stages of commercialisation of science, and can such dominance be broken? The study contributes to three bodies of literature: the commercialisation of science, generic technologies, and path dependence and path creation. Empirical research was conducted between January 2008 and June 2011 within two projects of the Cambridge Integrated Knowledge Centre (CIKC), a technology transfer initiative funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and industry partners. The projects were embedded in the emerging field of flexible and transparent electronics (also known as printed electronics) and involved collaboration between researchers from the University of Cambridge’s Electrical Engineering Department and the Cavendish Laboratory with industry partners. The study adopts a longitudinal qualitative research design based on participant observation. Fieldwork was conducted within two collaborative development projects: PLACORD, directed by Professor Bill Crossland, which focused on flexible and transparent display technologies, and HIPZOT, led by Dr Andrew Flewitt, which concentrated on materials and manufacturing processes for flexible and transparent electronics. The analysis identifies four main findings. First, actors formed collaborations by seeking complementary assets required to advance early-stage technological development. Second, uneven access to resources and capabilities generated asymmetric constraints and opportunities that shaped development decisions over time. Third, decisions taken at critical junctures committed collaborations to particular development trajectories, thereby enabling some paths while constraining others. Fourth, formal governance arrangements were introduced in response to technological development, but these layered additional constraints onto earlier informal commitments rather than replacing them. The study makes three main theoretical contributions. First, it complements dominant structure- and mechanism-oriented accounts of the commercialisation of science by advancing a processual perspective that shows how iterative collaborative work shapes which technological options are developed. Second, it demonstrates that while the commercial attractiveness of generic technologies is often associated with their potential to generate multiple applications, their development trajectories are shaped by the alliances through which critical resources are mobilised. Third, it shows that in the early stages of generic technologies collaboratively developed by academia and industry, path dependence and path creation are intertwined processes, unfolding through cumulative commitments made under conditions of uncertainty. The dissertation concludes by putting forward several propositions and identifying avenues for future research aimed at advancing understanding of early-stage commercialisation processes and technological path formation during the development of generic technologies.
Degree
thesis:*- Name dc:type.qualificationname
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
- Doctoral
- Grantor dc:publisher.institution
- University of Cambridge
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2012
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Figueredo, Alvaro
- Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
-
- Jones, Matthew
Subjects
dc:subject × 7Rights
dc:rightsIdentifiers
dc:identifier.*- DOI dc:identifier.doi
- https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.128604
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/400416