Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

What triggers innovation diffusion? Intermediary organizations and geography in cultural and science-based industries

Rekers, Josephine V. LU (2016) In Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 34(6). p.1058-1075
Abstract

This paper argues that innovation diffusion is not a rational implementation process, but more accurately portrayed as a highly social process, involving sets of intermediate organizations that contribute to a product’s reputation. Empirically it builds on two case studies, one cultural and one science-based, to demonstrate there are industry differences in where innovations get validated: validating intermediaries are centralized in few global nodes in the case of theatre, and decentralized in each marketplace in the case of pharmaceutical vaccines. This pattern is counterintuitive, because it is different from what we would expect based on the spatial organization of their production activities. These findings have implications for... (More)

This paper argues that innovation diffusion is not a rational implementation process, but more accurately portrayed as a highly social process, involving sets of intermediate organizations that contribute to a product’s reputation. Empirically it builds on two case studies, one cultural and one science-based, to demonstrate there are industry differences in where innovations get validated: validating intermediaries are centralized in few global nodes in the case of theatre, and decentralized in each marketplace in the case of pharmaceutical vaccines. This pattern is counterintuitive, because it is different from what we would expect based on the spatial organization of their production activities. These findings have implications for policy: can we assume innovations will readily diffuse (and export) outside their region of origin?

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
cultural industries, Diffusion, innovation policy, knowledge-based economy, science
in
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy
volume
34
issue
6
pages
18 pages
publisher
Pion Ltd
external identifiers
  • scopus:84987808220
  • wos:000383213100003
ISSN
0263-774X
DOI
10.1177/0263774X15625226
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a82deea1-d014-4835-965d-5a23dccf641d
date added to LUP
2016-11-11 13:07:42
date last changed
2024-06-01 19:31:44
@article{a82deea1-d014-4835-965d-5a23dccf641d,
  abstract     = {{<p>This paper argues that innovation diffusion is not a rational implementation process, but more accurately portrayed as a highly social process, involving sets of intermediate organizations that contribute to a product’s reputation. Empirically it builds on two case studies, one cultural and one science-based, to demonstrate there are industry differences in where innovations get validated: validating intermediaries are centralized in few global nodes in the case of theatre, and decentralized in each marketplace in the case of pharmaceutical vaccines. This pattern is counterintuitive, because it is different from what we would expect based on the spatial organization of their production activities. These findings have implications for policy: can we assume innovations will readily diffuse (and export) outside their region of origin?</p>}},
  author       = {{Rekers, Josephine V.}},
  issn         = {{0263-774X}},
  keywords     = {{cultural industries; Diffusion; innovation policy; knowledge-based economy; science}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{1058--1075}},
  publisher    = {{Pion Ltd}},
  series       = {{Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy}},
  title        = {{What triggers innovation diffusion? Intermediary organizations and geography in cultural and science-based industries}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263774X15625226}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/0263774X15625226}},
  volume       = {{34}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}