2011/05 | LEM Working Paper Series | |
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An emerging paradigm or just another trajectory? Understanding the nature of technological changes using engineering heuristics in the telecommunications switching industry |
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Arianna Martinelli |
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Keywords | ||
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technological trajectories; patents; network analysis; telecommunication manufacturing industry
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JEL Classifications | ||
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O30; O33; L96
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Abstract | ||
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The theoretical literature on technological changes distinguishes
between paradigmatic changes and changes in trajectories. Recently
several scholars have performed empirical studies on the way
technological trajectories evolve in specific industries, often by
predominantly looking at the artifacts. Much less - if any - empirical
work has been done on paradigmatic changes, even though these have a
much more profound impact on today's industry. It follows from the
theory that such studies would need to focus more on the knowledge
level than on the artifact level, raising questions on how to
operationalize such phenomena. This study aims to fill this gap by
applying network-based methodologies to knowledge networks,
represented here by patents and patent citations. The rich
technological history of telecommunications switches shows how
engineers in the post-war period were confronted with huge challenges
to meet drastically changing demands. This historical background is a
starting point for an in-depth analysis of patents, in search of
information about technological direction, technical bottlenecks, and
engineering heuristics. We aim to identify when such changes took
place over the seven different generations of technological advances
this industry has seen. In this way we can easily recognize genuine
paradigmatic changes compared to more regular changes in trajectory.
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Downloads | ||
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