# 22.29 Knowledge is non-fungible

César A. Hidalgo

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Abstract:

What would you do if you were asked to “add” knowledge?* Would you say that “one plus one knowledge” is two “knowledges”? Less than that? More? Or something in between? Adding knowledge sounds strange, but it brings to the forefront questions that are as fundamental as they are eclectic. These are questions about the nature of knowledge and about the use of mathematics to model reality. In this chapter, I explore the mathematics of adding knowledge starting from what I believe is an overlooked but key observation: the idea that knowledge is non-fungible.

# 20.59 From knowledge-based catching up to valuation focused development: Emerging strategy shifts in the Chinese solar photovoltaic industry

Xiao-Shan Yap, Bernhard Truffer, Deyu Li & Gaston Heimeriks

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Abstract:

Recent research in catching-up and leapfrogging literature has been at pains to explain how latecomer countries, besides a few exceptional cases, could achieve leadership positions in global industries. We propose to extend the potential development strategies by drawing on recent insights at the interface between economic geography and socio-technical transition studies. Whereas the extant catch-up literature has strongly focused on conditions of knowledge development, we claim that processes of “valuation” and in particular the formation of new markets needs to be considered more explicitly. Drawing on recent developments in the Chinese solar photovoltaics industry, we show how companies in the country moved from a knowledge based catch-up strategy, to increasingly leading the innovation frontier of the PV sector. However the most promising leapfrogging opportunity only seems to take shape in the most recent phase, where market deployment and entrepreneurial experimentation increasingly target a transition of the electricity sector towards accommodating a high share of renewables. In a nutshell, the experience of the Chinese solar photovoltaics industry progressed from manufacturing PV cells, to climbing the value chain ladder, and finally towards the construction of entirely new socio-technical systems. We argue that this approach is increasingly necessary as sustainability requirements become more urgent and that other countries may learn in order to move out of the middle- income trap.

# 20.50 Initial Conditions and Regional Performance in the Aftermath of Disruptive Shocks: The Case of East Germany after Socialism

Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich

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Abstract:

We investigate how initial conditions that existed in East Germany at the end of the socialist regime impact regional development during the turbulent shock transition to a market economic system. Our investigation spans a period of almost 30 years. Both the self-employment rate (an indication of the existence of a pre-socialist entrepreneurial tradition) and the share of the workforce with a tertiary degree have a strong positive effect on regional development. We conclude that knowledge and a tradition of entrepreneurship have long-run positive effects on development in regions that face disruptive shocks. Entrepreneurship and knowledge play a less important role for development across West German regions, where no significant shocks occurred.

# 20.28 Anatomy of a techno-creative community – the role of places and events in the emergence of videomapping in Nantes

Etienne Capron, Dominique Sagot-Duvauroux & Raphaël Suire

 

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Abstract:

This article aims to study the role of places and events in the structuring of a community of innovation whose practice is at the crossroads of art and tech – videomapping. Based on an exploratory case study, we observe the relationships between the different actors who form subgroups, sharing a common interest in a techno-creative practice – but whose collective innovation dynamic is only in its beginnings. We also document the usage of places and events in their intermediation role for these subgroups. This reveals preferential circulations – patterns of moves among a set of focal locations in the city for a community – and the crucial role of these locations in creative communities emergence.

# 16.23 Place, platform, and knowledge co-production dynamics: Evidence from makers and FabLab

Raphaël Suire

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FabLabs (fabrication laboratories) have become popular but the academic literature on this entrepreneurial phenomenon is scant. This paper provides some insight into the sources of Fablab performance based on original data on the characteristics and interactions between (n = 48) FabLabs and their ecosystem. A FabLab is a geographically located, intermediary platform which reduces the matching and searching costs to stakeholders involved in an entrepreneurial endeavor. We find that a FabLab is less productive if disconnected from its ecosystem. Innovation production is highest when the FabLab acts as a platform allowing interactions between small explorative firms, and large exploitative firms. Its innovation remains explorative if the interaction involves only small explorative firms. Our study has some implications for the management of FabLabs and their ambiguous impact on the overall innovation ecosystem in relation to resilience, smart specialization and diversification.

# 11.08 Knowledge in the air and cooperation between firms: Traditions of secrecy and the reluctant emergence of specialization in the ceramic manufacturing district of Lampang, Thailand

Weeranan Kamnungwut and Frederick Guy

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In the study of industrial clusters, the relative importance, and possible interrelationship, of inter-firm cooperation in production and broad knowledge transfers (both unintentional spillovers and intentional sharing) have long been disputed. To shed light on this we study ceramic tableware manufacturers in the city of Lampang, Thailand. Data consist of face-to-face interviews with principals in thirty-four manufacturers, and with representatives of supporting institutions. We find that an unwillingness to share knowledge with potential competitors retards the development of specialization in production; the outcome of efforts by various government actors and some manufacturers to change this situation is uncertain.