Abstract
In the field of energy supply, various innovative technologies such as fuel cells, photovoltaics and biomass digestion exist as potentially sustainable alternatives. However, many of these new technologies only cover small percentages of the overall energy supply. A better understanding of the determinants of innovations is thus crucial for their
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timely diffusion and a subsequent transformation of the energy sector towards more sustainable technologies. To examine the complex dynamics of technological change, the concept of technological innovation systems (TIS) represents a fruitful approach. TIS studies focus on the interplay of actors, networks and institutions and reveal systemic blocking or enhancing mechanisms that impact the generation, utilization and diffusion of new technologies.
In this stream of literature, agency and the structural build-up of TIS have not been a focus point, despite their significance for innovation processes. This dissertation explores the relationships between the strategic moves of actors and the development of new technological fields. To address this question, we draw on ideas and concepts from the strategic management and entrepreneurship literature and combine them with the innovation systems perspective. In particular we focus on resources and their role in innovation system-building. The empirical field of inquiry is the innovation system on stationary fuel cells in Germany. Through in-depth interviews with key informants directly involved in system-building, we studied the strategies of firms and formal networks in the field. The field of stationary fuel cells in Germany represents a very interesting case, as the technology is not only important for the development of a smart energy system but also indicative of many technological and organizational problems currently faced by (energy) innovations as they progress from prototypes to a mass market. Our analysis revealed how key actors and networks strategically influenced the emergence of the TIS and shaped the structures of the new field. They created technological standards, lobbied for public support programs, set up commonly available training modules, created value chains and increased public awareness of fuel cells. These structures represent assets that are of strategic value for firms interested in the novel technology. We conceptualize them as system resources. Our research shows that some specific actors, which we refer to as system builders, have continuously pushed the development of collective resources at the network and system level. Network resources such as joint knowledge, reputation, power and governance structures, in addition to the aforementioned system resources, are strategically developed and deployed to influence and control the development of the innovation system as a whole.
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