What exactly are technological regimes?: Intra-industry heterogeneity in the organization of innovation activities

Abstract

This empirical study analyzes the patterns of innovation within and across industries using firm-level survey data from Finland and Denmark. The theoretical starting point is evolutionary theory with its premise that firms in different technological regimes pursue different paths to innovation. Similar modes of behaviour are found in the two datasets, and they closely correspond to those found in earlier studies. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, however, the results show that industries are not at all uniform in terms of how firms innovate; in almost all four- or five-digit NACE industries, three or more different modes of innovation can be identified. This suggests that firms’ strategic differentiation or local search activities overcome pressures in the technological environment towards homogenous behaviour, at least in the short term.