Ebook: Technological Systems and Economic Performance: The Case of Factory Automation

In 1987 the Swedish National Board for Technical Development (STU, later becoming the Swedish National Board for Industrial and Technical Development, NUTEK) initiated a study of Sweden's Technological Systems and Future Development Potential. A comprehensive, interdisciplinary study was envisioned, yielding not only useful insight but also a permanent competence base for future analyses of technological systems and technology policy in Sweden. Three leading Swedish research institutes were invited to participate: the Industrial Institute for Economic and Social Research in Stockholm, the Department ofIndustrial Management and Economics at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, and the Research Policy Institute at the University of Lund. I was invited to direct the project. The project group decided to focus initially on a particular technological system, namely factory automation, to be followed by similar studies of other systems. Numerous publications have resulted from the project thus far. The current volume represents a summary of our work on factory automation. It consists of several original essays and of some previously published papers which have been edited, in some cases substantially, in order to form a comprehensive and coherent picture of a technological system. To our knowledge, this is the first in-depth analysis of a technological system designed as a component of a systematic study of technological systems more generally. At the time of this writing, three further studies on electronics and computers, pharmaceuticals, and powder technology are under way, to be published in a later volume.

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What are the characteristics of an environment that is conducive to technological innovation? In recent years several studies have appeared which have emphasized the comprehensive institutional framework of innovation in various countries. These studies have focused on the institutions and actors, primarily in science and technology policy, at the national level. The present study takes as its starting point the idea that the institutional infrastructure, important users and suppliers of technology and their capabilities, policy agents and networks which tie them together, differ across various fields of technology, and that the boundaries of the system may not coincide with national frontiers. Thus, Technological Systemsand Economic Performance: The Case of Factory Automation represents the first in-depth analysis of a `technological system', namely that which constitutes the context for factory automation in Sweden.
From a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary perspective, a group of researchers from three Swedish research institutes analyze Sweden's performance in factory automation, including its economic impact, the role of international linkages, and the policy implications.

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What are the characteristics of an environment that is conducive to technological innovation? In recent years several studies have appeared which have emphasized the comprehensive institutional framework of innovation in various countries. These studies have focused on the institutions and actors, primarily in science and technology policy, at the national level. The present study takes as its starting point the idea that the institutional infrastructure, important users and suppliers of technology and their capabilities, policy agents and networks which tie them together, differ across various fields of technology, and that the boundaries of the system may not coincide with national frontiers. Thus, Technological Systemsand Economic Performance: The Case of Factory Automation represents the first in-depth analysis of a `technological system', namely that which constitutes the context for factory automation in Sweden.
From a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary perspective, a group of researchers from three Swedish research institutes analyze Sweden's performance in factory automation, including its economic impact, the role of international linkages, and the policy implications.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Introduction....Pages 1-19
On the Nature, Function and Composition of Technological Systems....Pages 21-56
The Nature and Importance of Economic Competence....Pages 57-87
Mapping an Evolving Technology Cluster: The Composition and Structure of Factory Automation....Pages 89-117
The Academic Infrastructure of Factory Automation....Pages 119-164
The Role of the Science and Technology Infrastructure in the Development and Diffusion of Industrial Automation in Sweden....Pages 165-210
Sourcing of Advanced Manufacturing Technology: The Role of Customer-Supplier Interaction....Pages 211-239
What Makes the Automation Industry Strategic?....Pages 241-261
A Theoretical Framework for the Analysis of Supplier Industries....Pages 263-272
Technological Discontinuities and Company Strategies—Machine Tools and Flexible Manufacturing Systems....Pages 273-322
Diffusion and Industrial Dynamics in the Robot Industry....Pages 323-357
The Importance of Economic Competence in Economic Growth: A Micro-To-Macro Analysis....Pages 359-389
The Economic Impact of Factory Automation....Pages 391-416
Factory Automation and Government Policy....Pages 417-440
The Technological System for Factory Automation: An International Comparison....Pages 441-475
Back Matter....Pages 477-495

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What are the characteristics of an environment that is conducive to technological innovation? In recent years several studies have appeared which have emphasized the comprehensive institutional framework of innovation in various countries. These studies have focused on the institutions and actors, primarily in science and technology policy, at the national level. The present study takes as its starting point the idea that the institutional infrastructure, important users and suppliers of technology and their capabilities, policy agents and networks which tie them together, differ across various fields of technology, and that the boundaries of the system may not coincide with national frontiers. Thus, Technological Systemsand Economic Performance: The Case of Factory Automation represents the first in-depth analysis of a `technological system', namely that which constitutes the context for factory automation in Sweden.
From a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary perspective, a group of researchers from three Swedish research institutes analyze Sweden's performance in factory automation, including its economic impact, the role of international linkages, and the policy implications.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Introduction....Pages 1-19
On the Nature, Function and Composition of Technological Systems....Pages 21-56
The Nature and Importance of Economic Competence....Pages 57-87
Mapping an Evolving Technology Cluster: The Composition and Structure of Factory Automation....Pages 89-117
The Academic Infrastructure of Factory Automation....Pages 119-164
The Role of the Science and Technology Infrastructure in the Development and Diffusion of Industrial Automation in Sweden....Pages 165-210
Sourcing of Advanced Manufacturing Technology: The Role of Customer-Supplier Interaction....Pages 211-239
What Makes the Automation Industry Strategic?....Pages 241-261
A Theoretical Framework for the Analysis of Supplier Industries....Pages 263-272
Technological Discontinuities and Company Strategies—Machine Tools and Flexible Manufacturing Systems....Pages 273-322
Diffusion and Industrial Dynamics in the Robot Industry....Pages 323-357
The Importance of Economic Competence in Economic Growth: A Micro-To-Macro Analysis....Pages 359-389
The Economic Impact of Factory Automation....Pages 391-416
Factory Automation and Government Policy....Pages 417-440
The Technological System for Factory Automation: An International Comparison....Pages 441-475
Back Matter....Pages 477-495
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