Exploring new opportunities through collaboration within and beyond sectoral systems of innovation in the fourth industrial revolution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolan Fu ◽  
Xiaoqing (Maggie) Fu ◽  
Carmen Contreras Romero ◽  
Jianping Pan
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Multinational Enterprise ◽  
Systems Of Innovation ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Technological Convergence ◽  
Research Collaborations ◽  
Disciplinary Diversity

Abstract This article investigates how a leading Chinese multinational enterprise in a core sector of the fourth industrial revolution manages research collaborations within and beyond its sectoral systems of innovation to create novel innovations and push the technological frontier of the industry. We find the firm expanded its technology boundaries through collaborations, particularly multidisciplinary collaborations in both core and noncore technological areas of the industry to establish and maintain its leadership in this dynamic sector. High disciplinary diversity in the company’s collaborative research portfolio is positively associated with the novelty of its innovation outputs. Promising noncore technologies have been integrated into its production through collaborative research, thus promoting technological convergence at both the firm and the sectoral levels. As a result, the boundary of the industry is expanded.

scholarly journals Convergence of the Technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Systematic Consequences for the Economies and Societies (Part 2)

2020 ◽  
pp. 117-132
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Digital Ecosystems ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Technological Convergence

Second part of the article discusses the change in scientific knowledge and its increasingly convergent nature; the convergence between technologies and humans, their increasing interconnectivity and interdependence; the emergence of digital ecosystems and new forms of value generation; and finally the consequences for politicoeconomic systems and the need for systematic changes in them, through which to respond to the challenges dictated by technological convergence, by its emergent and synergistic characteristics, and through them, to the exponential changes at all levels of societies.

Digitalization and its Strategic Implications for the Multinational Enterprise

2020 ◽  
pp. 373-400
Author(s):  
Pinar Ozcan ◽  
Basak Yakis-Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Multinational Enterprise ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
New Economy ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Digital Or

We have a diverse set of descriptions referred to as the “fourth industrial revolution”, Industry 4.0, or the “digital” or “new economy”, indicating that there is a seismic shift under way. Due to digital transformation arising from the combined effect of several digital technologies including IoT, 5G, cloud, blockchain, big data and artificial intelligence, companies today are being transformed, and for many, this transformation comes in ways that they have not experienced before. This may mean that firms entering new markets with digital technologies may be less dependent on mediators and be able to control the delivery of their products or services, while new entrants are likely to gain advantages from exploiting digital platforms. The chapter lays out how the classic principles of international competitive strategy are transformed in today’s markets due to digitalization and provides suggestions in terms of how firms, and particularly multinational enterprises (MNEs), can respond to these transformations.

THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (INDUSTRY 4.0) A SOCIAL INNOVATION PERSPECTIVE

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Schwab
Keyword(s):  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Socioeconomic Impact ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Rapid Pace ◽  
Sustainable System ◽  
Industrial Revolutions

The rapid pace of technological developments played a key role in the previous industrial revolutions. However, the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and its embedded technology diffusion progress is expected to grow exponentially in terms of technical change and socioeconomic impact. Therefore, coping with such transformation require a holistic approach that encompasses innovative and sustainable system solutions and not just technological ones. In this article, we propose a framework that can facilitate the interaction between technological and social innovation to continuously come up with proactive, and hence timely, sustainable strategies. These strategies can leverage economic rewards, enrich society at large, and protect the environment. The new forthcoming opportunities that will be generated through the next industrial wave are gigantic at all levels. However, the readiness for such revolutionary conversion require coupling the forces of technological innovation and social innovation under the sustainability umbrella.

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