Jon Barrutia

Tendencies in scientific output on carbon nanotubes and graphene in global centers of excellence for nanotechnology

A change has been taking place in the world of nanotechnologies since 2009, marking the beginning of a new era of end consumer goods related to these new technologies. In this article, our aim is to know the dominant tendencies observed in scientific output on carbon nanotubes at centres and poles from different countries and considered to be at the forefront of nanotechnologies research. We have selected a sample comprised of eight universities and locally coherent concentrations from different geographic areas: Europe, America and Asia. Based on this sample, we have used the Scopus database to analyse scientific output on carbon nanotubes in order to determine if there are significant differences in behaviour. We observe that dynamics of scientific output on nanotubes are similar in the universities and clusters analysed over time although a drop in publications was noted in 2009 in part of the organizations included in the sample. We have seen a large amount of publications on graphene in the last several years, due to the fact that researchers working in the field of carbon nanotubes gradually move towards the study of graphene, explained by the high expectations concerning the use of this element. The results lead us to conclude that advances in knowledge on carbon nanotubes and graphene will make it possible to meet the growing needs of a new and powerful market for products that are progressively including these new elements.

The Dynamics of Regional Clusters of Nanotechnologies: Evidences from German Länder and Two Spanish Autonomous Communities

In the present article, we use a dynamic approach to analyse the topography of regional/local nanotechnologies clusters through the agents that make them up. These agents include firms of different sizes and characteristics, universities, research centers and intermediary organizations supporting the creation of firms. Our study examines scientific publications as well as the gaps observed in some clusters and how the weakest clusters could be strengthened. Our spatial scope of analysis is region-based. We begin with the study of German lander which serve as references to aid understanding the cases of the two Spanish autonomous communities: the Basque Country and Catalonia.

Dynamics of Big Internet Industry Groups and Future Trends

This book applies a new analytical framework to the study of the evolution of large Internet companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and Samsung. It sheds light on the dynamics of business groups, which are approached as business ecosystems, and introduces the concept of Epigenetic Economic Dynamics (EED), which is defined as the study of the epigenetic dynamics generated as a result of the adaptation of organizations to major changes in their respective environments. The book augments the existing literature on evolutionary economic thinking with findings from epigenetics, which are proving increasingly useful in analyzing the workings of large organizations. It also details the theoretical and conceptual nature of recent work based on evolutionary economics, mainly from the perspective of generalized Darwinism, resilience and related variety, and complements the work conducted on evolutionary economics by applying the analytical framework of EED. It makes it easier to forecast future dynamics on the Internet by proving that a sizable number of big business groups are veering from their initial paths to take unprecedented new directions as a result of competition pressure, and as such is a valuable resource for postgraduates and researchers as well as those involved in economics and innovation studies.

What prevents PROS from making KNOTS? Evidence for nano-researchers

ABSTRACT The current study examines the barriers faced by research organisations in nanoscience when transferring knowledge to the industrial sector. Two are the questions that guide this research: Does the context play a role in the effectiveness of knowledge transfer activities? Does the transfer of scientific output in nanoscience depend on the type of organisation? Three geographic areas are compared: the Basque Country (Spain), Uusimaa (Finland) and Sydsverige (Sweden). A survey to the research groups in the three locations was conducted, together with interviews with each group’s leaders. Quantitative and qualitative methods are thus used to interpret the information collected. The results indicate that the main barriers to knowledge transfer come from the innovation system, rather than from the organisation to which the research group belongs. The study discusses a series of trade-offs facing policy makers in charge of implementing science, technology and innovation.

Foreign demand for European higher education systems

Adaptation to the European Higher Education Area has prompted European universities to concentrate on becoming more attractive to students, lecturers and researchers from different world regions. This paper analyses the places of origin of international university students in different European countries. The countries are shown in groups by their international students’ places of origin. The groups of countries were formed by using a cluster analysis. The results indicate that it is possible to identify four groups of countries. The percentage of African and South American students is remarkable in the group of countries formed by France, Portugal and Spain. In contrast, the group of countries formed by Finland, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Ukraine, Greece and the Russian Federation is distinctive for a high percentage of Asian students. In the other two groups of countries, there is a considerable percentage of international European students. Keywords: global demand, university students, place of origin, European countries.

Epigenetic Economics Dynamics in the Internet Ecosystem

We are witnessing a very rapid development of mobile telephone-related sectors, firms and technologies on the Internet. The changes being perceived at the present time are characterized by their high speed, giving rise to high velocity markets and high velocity environments. In such environments, a number of dynamics are not explained by evolutionary principles. This chapter focuses on the dynamics observed in the Internet ecosystem as an illustration of the abrupt changes occurring in these high velocity environments. The goal of this chapter is to analyze the evolution and dynamics observed in the business groups discussed in the book, determining how these expand and diversify their activities, in what we refer to as epigenetic dynamics. Our aim is to understand how epigenetic dynamics of the business groups mentioned above address change in response to variations in their environments. With it, we intend to provide a comprehensive view of the trends and dynamics observed in the Internet ecosystem.

Scope and Limitations of the Epigenetic Analogy: An Application to the Digital World

This chapter concludes the book by addressing the scope and limitations of the epigenetic analogy (i.e. EED) introduced in it. The chapter discusses in depth how economic analysis falls somewhat short of offering explanations and predictability of the digital ecosystem, concluding that an ecology-biology analogy may be appropriate as a body of knowledge to offer explanations and predictability. One of the problems encountered in any analysis undertaken within the Internet ecosystem is the definition of the borders. Setting topological markers proves difficult due to the dynamic nature of the ecosystem concerned, its powerful permeability and penetration in other production sectors and its eagerness to radically transform these. The book has partially included the analysis of the consequences of epigenetic dynamics. However, since consequences are only observed ex-post, the undertaken analysis of this is still rather partial, remaining as a matter of further work. There are new analytical challenges for the biological analogy in general, upon which the field of evolutionary economics is based, and for the EED approach introduced in this book in particular, that require the construction of models with explanatory and predictability potential so that they can orient policy makers’ and business management’s decision-making. This last aspect is an even more sensitive subject and calls for further research, which we aim, as a community, to be able to accomplish in the following years to come.

Introducing an Epigenetic Approach for the Study of Internet Industry Groups

The aim of this first chapter is to study how organizations adapt to extremely fast qualitatively significant changes in the environment. As opposed to the prevalent Darwinian approach in which the logic of the phenotype is seen as a slow and moderate adaptation of social organizations to changes, our view focuses on rapid adaptation to quickly changing environments. The analytical framework we put forth in this chapter, through the concept of Epigenetic Economic Dynamics (EED), comes from different fields of knowledge. This concept finds its roots in: (i) new discoveries in molecular biology; (ii) the complexity theory, which is a theoretical framework stemming from very diverse sciences; (iii) current approaches in terms of organizational routines in management; (iv) economic theory on competition and profits; and (v) innovation studies from a Schumpeterian approach.