Recombinant invention in solar photovoltaic technology: can geographical proximity bridge technological distance?

This paper explores the emergence of new combinations of unrelated technologies at the regional level. The analyses show that for solar photovoltaic inventions, such unrelated technologies are more likely to be recombined when they strongly co-locate in the same region rather than in different regio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Regional studies 2021-04, Vol.55 (4), p.605-616
Main Authors: Li, Deyu, Heimeriks, Gaston, Alkemade, Floor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Energy
Energy technology
geographical proximity
Inventions
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaics
Proximity
recombinant invention
Regional development
Renewable energy
Renewable energy technologies
Renewable resources
solar photovoltaic
technological distance
Technology
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Summary:This paper explores the emergence of new combinations of unrelated technologies at the regional level. The analyses show that for solar photovoltaic inventions, such unrelated technologies are more likely to be recombined when they strongly co-locate in the same region rather than in different regions. Furthermore, we show that this pattern is common to renewable energy inventions, although different dynamics are observed in different types of renewable energy technology. The results highlight the importance of place-based capabilities in facilitating breakthrough inventions in renewable energy technologies.
ISSN:0034-3404
1360-0591
DOI:10.1080/00343404.2020.1839639