This project investigated the role of technology platforms from science in the generation of variety and the mechanisms and processes by which it can be effectively exploited, that is, to generate new market opportunities and lead to economic growth. The aim was to address a crucial problem of intermediate development economies, where the weak capacity to realize the effective exploitation of new technological opportunities, translating them into a variety of innovative activity, is an obstacle to the development of science-based industries. It is also proposed that technology platforms emerging from science can play an important role in creating interdependencies, since they are spaces that foster the generation of variety and at the same time provide a focussing device to exploit this variety. This latter aspect is particularly critical in intermediate economies and therefore the project places special emphasis on the way in which the exploitation of variety can be achieved and on the role of different mechanisms of interdependence creation, ie the development of upstream links ) and downstream (market). The development process of the biomedical industry in Portugal was chosen as the empirical context. The analysis focused on how the processes of developing interdependencies lead to variety, producing technological and market outcomes and on the role of new models of value creation and appropriation in these processes. This exploratory research will also allow us to test, validate and improve our approach, providing a robust theoretical and methodological tool that can later be applied to the analysis of the industry as a whole.

This project investigated the role of technology platforms from science in the generation of variety and the mechanisms and processes by which it can be effectively exploited, that is, to generate new market opportunities and lead to economic growth. The aim was to address a crucial problem of intermediate development economies, where the weak capacity to realize the effective exploitation of new technological opportunities, translating them into a variety of innovative activity, is an obstacle to the development of science-based industries. It is also proposed that technology platforms emerging from science can play an important role in creating interdependencies, since they are spaces that foster the generation of variety and at the same time provide a focussing device to exploit this variety. This latter aspect is particularly critical in intermediate economies and therefore the project places special emphasis on the way in which the exploitation of variety can be achieved and on the role of different mechanisms of interdependence creation, ie the development of upstream links ) and downstream (market). The development process of the biomedical industry in Portugal was chosen as the empirical context. The analysis focused on how the processes of developing interdependencies lead to variety, producing technological and market outcomes and on the role of new models of value creation and appropriation in these processes. This exploratory research will also allow us to test, validate and improve our approach, providing a robust theoretical and methodological tool that can later be applied to the analysis of the industry as a whole.

Project goals: This project addresses the role of emerging energy technologies in the transition to an environmentally sustainable paradigm. It focuses on the functions played by new technology-intensive firms (NTIFs) - academic or corporate spin-offs - in the process of developing research-based renewable energy technologies, and introducing them into the market, as well as on their interactions with other key actors.Methodology:Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we will address the commercialization process of new technologies, with a view to understanding:1) the role of firms originating from academic institutions or from established companies in the market introduction of renewable energy technologies;2) the type of alliances and networks they establish and the nature and behaviour of other actors they engage with (research organizations; large energy established firms, etc.);3) the impact of policies, through incentives or through the creation of a legal framework and technical infrastructures and norms;4) the impact of institutional changes, both policy induced and deriving from social behaviour changes. Our final objective is thus to uncover the roles that emerge as a result of the strategies identified their relative prevalence and the specific configurations they assume in the energy area. The impact of particular institutional contexts will be assessed through international comparisons (with Netherlands and UK). This will enable us to typify the roles played by NTIFs in the transition to a sustainable energy regime. The results of this project will contribute to on-going research on how to achieve a regime shift, as well as to an understanding of how these processes are taking place in the Portuguese energy system, providing insights to policy formulation and supporting collective action by environmentally active social groups.

Project goals were to achieve a better understanding of the nature of and reasons for the diversity among research-based spin-offs, through: the development of an conceptual model inspired by resource-based and neo-institutionalist theories that enables the identification of factors that explain such diversity; its application to develop a taxonomy of research-based spin-offs; a preliminary empirical validation of this taxonomy. Methodology was based on the development and empirical validation of companies’ taxonomy based on data from research spin-offs companies through a questionnaire and a few case studies. Integration and harmonization of data about existing spin-off companies in the participating countries, along with the gathering of new data, with a view of building an international database.

Our goal was to understand the role of social networks of scientific entrepreneurs in the creation and diffusion of knowledge in biotechnology, with a view of contributing to the design of S&T policies regarding the interface between science and industry appropriate to intermediate development economies. There were five different stages: literature revision, two empirical research stages, a computerized simulation tryouts stage and, finally, conclusions and consequences for the implementation of public policies.