Technology, Innovation and Policy (ISI) – serie

This volume is part of a series which makes a contribution to research on innovation, and to the discussion of its political consequences. Adopting a practice-oriented, interdisciplinary approach, the "Technology, Innovation and Policy" series is concerned to examine the complex requirements of research and innovation, to describe their economic and societal impacts and to facilitate the responsible handling of new technologies. In Japan, the Delphi method is applied since 1971 to foresee possible technological developments. The same approach was used in Germany in 1992 for the first time. The German expert survey about the development of future technology was based on the Japanese survey conducted in 1991 and discussed the same topics. The results of both studies are compared and analyzed. From the comparison, conclusions can be drawn on the relevance of certain technology fields or disciplines not only for public technology policy, but also for companies.Possible times of realization, constraints on the realization, the current research and development (R&D) level of nations or the necessity of international co-operation give hints about tomorrow's technology and its economic and societal impacts.

The book deals with the effects of the research and technological development (RTD) policy of the European Community (EC) on the German research landscape and the interactions between the EC and the German policy. A systematic attempt at a cross-programme and country specific level to examine these impacts empirically has not previously been undertaken. Viewed as a whole, the EC programmes promoted the exchange of ideas, technology and knowledge within the Community and strengthened the scientific and technical basis in Germany, although the national German RTD policy does not lose its predominant influence.

A more detailed understanding of the interaction between science and technology is necessary in order to develop appropriate tools for future R&D management and technology policy. The first part of this book describes the structure of the science/technology interface and analyses the role of science for the generation of new technologies and respective institutional problems. The second part examines the challenges to R&D management and appropriate management tools from the perspective of industrial enterprises. Part III documents the results of two field studies in the science-intensive areas of medical lasers and neural networks. The major aim of the book is to bring together the variety of different approaches from an academic and industrial perspective.

The aim of this study is to investigate in the role of Venture Capital in the development of New Technology Based Firms in two countries: USA and Germany. Based on literature review and empirical work issues concerning the extent and stage of financing, the nature of oversight provided by Venture Capitalists and the framework conditions for Venture Capital are subject of investigation. The results have been reflected in a workshop with experts from research, industry and policy.

Technology-based firms contribute to dynamic competition, ensure product variety, close market gaps and promote job creation. Their development is impeded by a difficult access to capital, high R&D costs and management deficits. The book analyses their chances and risks in the innovation process. Topics deal with the management of technology-based firms, different aspects on their financing, the spectrum of public promotion programmes and the venture capital market in Germany. Finally, the book centres on regional technology and economic promotion and the creation of regional networks for technology-based firms. The reader documents research of Fraunhofer-ISI on technology-based firms and their environment and aims at a better understanding of specific chances and risks in the development process of such firms.

This book is the result of a workshop of the "Six-Countries-Programme - the Inno- vation Initiative". The Six-Countries Programme provides an international network which was estab- lished in 1975. Since its foundation this programme has succeeded to gather politi- cal decision makers, scientists, industrialists and practitioners in innovation for early discussions of topics which later on often have become political "trajectories". The programme aims at a better understanding of innovation processes, their deve- lopment and at an assessment of the impact of science and technology on public policies and programmes. As participants do not speak as formal representatives of their institution, an informal and confidential atmosphere is created. Thus, through the discussions and the dissemination of the reports the workshops can serve as a catalyst to stimulate experts in the field to engage in analytical and empirical rese- arch work focussing on new perspectives or interrelationships, and to motivate de- cision makers in governments, companies and organisations to participate in a mul- ti-nationallearning process.

This book offers a guideline for "Technology Audit" exercises for the transforming innovation systems of Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). Further­ more, the book presents the results of an exemplary application of this guideline in the field of biotechnology in Hungary. The authors - a group of innovation re­ searchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (lSI), Germany, and of the Innovation Research Centre (IKU), Hungary - provide a sound concept for the identification of technological strengths and weaknesses of the CEECs' industrially oriented research systems as a basis for the design of advanced innovation policies. After the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had proposed a "Technology Audit" of Hungary in 1993, a pilot audit was carried out under their auspices. In parallel, the German Federal Ministry of Education, Sci­ ence, Research and Technology (BMFT) put forward the idea of developing the audit concept further in order to make it applicable also in other Central and Eastern European Countries. They asked lSI to utilise the running OECD audits as a learn­ ing source and to work out a comprehensive audit approach.

How industrial companies in Germany's critically important investment goods sector are deploying new technological and organizational production concepts to adapt to competitiveness challenges, new market requirements, environmental demands, and policy pressures is examined in this book. It draws on the Fraunhofer ISI's unique nationwide survey of technology use and production in Germany. East German as well as West German data is analyzed. Readers will gain fresh insights about the diffusion of new production concepts, the interaction of process and product innovations, and subsequent effects on productivity, employment, work flexibility, and the business performance of German industry. Implications for business strategy, public policy, and ongoing research into technology diffusion are considered.

On the threshold of the 21st century, an intensive debate about globalisation of R&D and technology markets is of crucial importance. Globalisation will carry on changing the framework for company strategies and subsequently for public policies. These conference proceedings contain the papers presented at the international conference "Globalisation of R&D and Technology Markets - Consequences for National Innovation Policies," which was organised by the BMBF and FhG-ISI.In the first part, following the introduction, the policy perspectives are formulated. In the second part the trends, issues and policy implications of the technological globalisation are presented. The third part focusses on international R&D strategies and the promotion of competence centres from the viewpoint of enterprises.

Although the first Agro-Food products based on modem biotechnology (e. g. recombinant chymosin for cheese production; tomato puree based on genetically engineered tomatoes; herbicide-resistant, genetically modified soybean; insect­ resistant maize) have been introduced in the EU markets in recent years, the application of this technology is still being intensively discussed in the European Union. Recent opinion polls indicate as well that consumers' acceptance of genetically engineered food and agro-products still is relatively low (e. g. European Commission 1997, Hampel et al. 1997), at least in some member states of the EU. In contrast, representatives from politics and industry underline the necessity to apply modem biotechnology in the Agro-Food sector as well, mainly to ensure the competitiveness of EU agriculture and food industry and for employment reasons. Against this background there seems to be a need for a scientific analysis of the future impacts of modem biotechnology in the Agro-Food sector of the EU. Recent studies trying to analyse this issue (e. g. OECD 1992, Teuber 1992) usually comprise extrapolations of status-quo analyses. What has not been exploited so far in this context are systematic technology forecasting approaches which do not include only one single country, but get information on an international level. Therefore, the impacts of modem biotechnology on the Agro-Food sector in five member countries of the EU (Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain) have been analysed with the help of the Delphi methodology which represents one of the most reliable tools for technology forecasting.

The current decade has stressed the reinforcement of three major trends affecting developed economies since at least half a century. The frrst trend concerns the im- portance of innovations for fIrms, regions and nations. Even if innovation, however defmed, is not a recent phenomenon, the crucial role innovativeness plays in a world of increased competition reveals its importance as a major economic phe- nomenon. A second prominent trend corresponds to the "tertiarisation of the econ- omy", i. e. the considerable and continuous expansion of the share of services in contemporary economies. 1 The third trend consists in the substantial changes af- fecting the economical meaning of "space". Signs of these substantial changes can be found in the increased unity of "space" (the globalisation phenomenon), in the appearance of new territories (as suggested by the emergence of a "virtual conti- nent"2) as well as in the reconsideration of existing ones (for instance, induced by new flexible production systems).As such, these three trends express a triple break- down: a breakdown in the time scale of the economy (due to the increasing velocity of economic activities), a breakdown in the nature of the economy (since "intangi- ble production" is expanding) and a breakdown in the space(s) of the economy (be- cause of shifting dimensions). Certain categories of activities or actors may high- light and even symbolise this triple rupture in diverse ways.

Innovation networks are a major source for acquiring new information and knowledge and thus for supporting innovation processes. Despite the many theoretical and empirical contributions to the explanation of networks, many questions still remain open. For example: How can networks, if they do not emerge by their own, be initiated? How can fragmentation in innovation systems be overcome? And how can networking experience from market economies be transferred to the emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe? By presenting a selection of papers which address innovation networking from theoretical and political viewpoints, the book aims at giving answers to these questions.

Innovations for our Future describes not only the big development trends of the future in research and technology, but also the re-discovery of the Delphi method.

Much of the research on transformation/transition in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) focuses on macroeconomic issues (inflation, economic growth, employment ...). Little research has been devoted so far to microeconomic analysis. Recently the issue of new enterprises and firm founders has moved to the centre of economic and policy considerations. Readers of this book will learn about the role played by these firms in the transformation of central and eastern European countries. The book also includes contributions from Central and Eastern Europe on which little or no investigation has been performed until now (Yugoslavia, Romania, Slovakia).