Economic development is centered around the learning processes of firms, the mastering of knowledge, and the accumulation of capabilities. This article builds upon these core elements by looking at how the knowledge boundaries of firms, the division of innovative and productive labor, and the governance of knowledge have evolved over time in the advanced industrialized countries in order to provide a historical and evolutionary context to the patterns of knowledge dynamics and innovation that are present in economic development and in emerging markets nowadays. It adopts the theoretical lenses of the sectoral system literature to discuss how the interplay of the supply and the demand side affects firms’ boundaries. The article shows that, over time , the knowledge boundaries for innovation, production and commercialization have greatly expanded, often to reach beyond the legal boundaries of firms or even the conventional definition of industries. The division between production and innovative labor has also increased. At the same time, the role of industrial users and of consumers as a source of useful knowledge has grown significantly. Yet the governance of the knowledge that is relevant for introducing key innovations has remained in the hands of a relatively small number of firms. As knowledge integration capabilities become a core competence for firms competing on world markets, these trends will have important implications for leading companies in emerging economies.
Knolwedge, supply and demand in industrial development: a sectoral system perspective
BRUSONI, STEFANO;MALERBA, FRANCO
2011
Abstract
Economic development is centered around the learning processes of firms, the mastering of knowledge, and the accumulation of capabilities. This article builds upon these core elements by looking at how the knowledge boundaries of firms, the division of innovative and productive labor, and the governance of knowledge have evolved over time in the advanced industrialized countries in order to provide a historical and evolutionary context to the patterns of knowledge dynamics and innovation that are present in economic development and in emerging markets nowadays. It adopts the theoretical lenses of the sectoral system literature to discuss how the interplay of the supply and the demand side affects firms’ boundaries. The article shows that, over time , the knowledge boundaries for innovation, production and commercialization have greatly expanded, often to reach beyond the legal boundaries of firms or even the conventional definition of industries. The division between production and innovative labor has also increased. At the same time, the role of industrial users and of consumers as a source of useful knowledge has grown significantly. Yet the governance of the knowledge that is relevant for introducing key innovations has remained in the hands of a relatively small number of firms. As knowledge integration capabilities become a core competence for firms competing on world markets, these trends will have important implications for leading companies in emerging economies.
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