Microsoft Word - Healthy Communities Cover.docx LOOKING FORWARD VIA THE PAST: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF ROBOTICS FIRMS Eric Estolatan and Aldo Geuna INNOVATION POLICY LAB WORKING PAPER SERIES 2019-02 Abstract The case studies described in this paper investigate the evolution of the knowledge bases of the two leading EU robotics firms - KUKA and COMAU. [...] 5 Regardless of the innovation being introduced and the choices it involves, the literature highlights the value for the firm to maintain diverse technological capabilities – especially in formulating the appropriate responses to these stimuli. [...] 14 The 1980s and the 1990s saw the steady expansion of robotics use in various industries, although the automotive industry remained the most significant – with GM the leading robotics purchaser at the firm level (Miller, 1989). [...] Were they the result of internal deliberations or the products of an external shock? Looking into the evolution of the automotive sector, the long-standing primary market for automation, suggests that the crises and restructuring of the automobile industry had a major demand shock on the robotics sector. [...] In some cases, incumbent firms are unable to adapt (see the case of Kodak and digital photography), in others acquisition of small innovative companies allows the dominant player to survive (see the evolution of the pharmaceutical industry and the emergence of biotechnology).
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