Sanjay K. Arora

Entry strategies in an emerging technology: A pilot web-based study of graphene firms

We explore pilot web-based methods to probe the strategies followed by new small and medium-sized technology-based firms as they seek to commercialize emerging technologies. Tracking and understanding the behavior of such early commercial entrants is not straightforward because smaller firms with limited resources do not always widely engage in readily visible and accessible activities such as publishing and patenting. However, many new firms, even if small, present information about themselves that is available online. Focusing on the early commercialization of novel graphene technologies, we introduce a “web scraping” approach to systematically capture information contained in the online web pages of a sample of small and medium-sized high technology graphene firms in the US, UK, and China. We analyze this information and devise measures that gauge how firm specialization in the target technology impacts overall market orientation. Three groups of graphene enterprises are identified which vary by their focus on product development, materials development, and integration into existing product portfolios. Country-level factors are important in understanding these early diverging commercial approaches in the nascent graphene market. We consider management and policy implications of our findings, and discuss the value, including strengths and weaknesses, of web scraping as an additional information source on enterprise strategies in emerging technologies.

Early patterns of commercial activity in graphene

Graphene, a novel nanomaterial consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms, has attracted significant attention due to its distinctive properties, including great strength, electrical and thermal conductivity, lightness, and potential benefits for diverse applications. The commercialization of scientific discoveries such as graphene is inherently uncertain, with the lag time between the scientific development of a new technology and its adoption by corporate actors revealing the extent to which firms are able to absorb knowledge and engage in learning to implement applications based on the new technology. From this perspective, we test for the existence of three different corporate learning and activity patterns: (1) a linear process where patenting follows scientific discovery; (2) a double-boom phenomenon where corporate (patenting) activity is first concentrated in technological improvements and then followed by a period of technology productization; and (3) a concurrent model where scientific discovery in publications occurs in parallel with patenting. By analyzing corporate publication and patent activity across country and application lines, we find that, while graphene as a whole is experiencing concurrent scientific development and patenting growth, country- and application-specific trends offer some evidence of the linear and double-boom models.

Using the wayback machine to mine websites in the social sciences: A methodological resource

Websites offer an unobtrusive data source for developing and analyzing information about various types of social science phenomena. In this paper, we provide a methodological resource for social scientists looking to expand their toolkit using unstructured web‐based text, and in particular, with the Wayback Machine, to access historical website data. After providing a literature review of existing research that uses the Wayback Machine, we put forward a step‐by‐step description of how the analyst can design a research project using archived websites. We draw on the example of a project that analyzes indicators of innovation activities and strategies in 300 U.S. small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises in green goods industries. We present six steps to access historical Wayback website data: (a) sampling, (b) organizing and defining the boundaries of the web crawl, (c) crawling, (d) website variable operationalization, (e) integration with other data sources, and (f) analysis. Although our examples draw on specific types of firms in green goods industries, the method can be generalized to other areas of research. In discussing the limitations and benefits of using the Wayback Machine, we note that both machine and human effort are essential to developing a high‐quality data set from archived web information.

Early Patterns of Commercialization in Graphene

Graphene is a novel nanomaterial consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms. It has attracted significant attention due to its distinctive properties, which include great strength, electrical and thermal conductivity, and lightness. While many diverse and exciting potential applications are discussed, the commercialization of scientific discoveries such as graphene is inherently uncertain. There is often considerable time lag between the science, the early development of a new technology, and its adoption by corporate and other actors. In part this relates to the extent to which firms are able to absorb knowledge and engage in learning to implement applications of the new technology. In this chapter, we consider three different possible patterns of corporate learning and activity These are: (1) a linear process, where patenting follows scientific discovery; (2) a “double-boom” phenomenon, where corporate (patenting) activity is first concentrated in technological improvements and then followed by a period of technology productization; and (3) a concurrent model, where scientific discovery in publications occurs in parallel with patenting. We analyze corporate publication and patent activity across countries and lines of application. The results indicate that, while graphene as a whole is experiencing concurrent scientific development and patenting growth, country- and application-specific trends offer some evidence of both the linear and double-boom models. Thus the empirical path of development cannot be accounted for by just one of the models; nor is one model sufficient guidance for policy and strategy formation.

Evaluating the Impact of Manufacturing Extension Services on Establishment Performance

This study examines the effects of receipt of business assistance services from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) on manufacturing establishment performance. The results generally indicate that MEP services have had positive and significant impacts on establishment productivity and sales per worker for the 2002 to 2007 period with some exceptions based on employment size, industry, and type of service provided. MEP services have also increased the probability of establishment survival for the 1997 to 2007 period. Regardless of econometric model specification, MEP clients with 1 to 19 employees have statistically significant and higher levels of labor productivity growth. The authors also observed significant productivity differences associated with MEP services by broad sector, with higher impacts over the 2002 to 2007 period in the durable goods manufacturing sector. The study further finds that establishments receiving MEP assistance are more likely to survive than those that do not receive MEP assistance.

Evaluating the Long-Term Effect of NIST MEP Services on Establishment Performance

This work examines the effects of receipt of business assistance services from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) on manufacturing establishment performance. Several measures of performance are considered: (1) change in value-added per employee (a measure of productivity); (2) change in sales per worker; (3) change in employment; and (4) establishment survival. To analyze these relationships, we merged program records from the MEP’s client and project information files with administrative records from the Census of Manufacturers and other Census databases over the periods 1997–2002 and 2002–2007 to compare the outcomes and performance of “served” and “unserved” manufacturing establishments. The approach builds on, updates, and expands upon earlier studies comparing matched MEP client and non-client performance over time periods ending in 1992 and 2002. Our results generally indicate that MEP services had positive and significant impacts on establishment productivity and sales per worker for the 2002–2007 period with some exceptions based on employment size, industry, and type of service provided. MEP services also increased the probability of establishment survival for the 1997–2007 period. Regardless of econometric model specification, MEP clients with 1–19 employees have statistically significant and higher levels of labor productivity growth. We also observed significant productivity differences associated with MEP services by broad sector, with higher impacts over the 2002–2007 time period in the durable goods manufacturing sector. The study further finds that establishments receiving MEP assistance are more likely to survive than those that do not receive MEP assistance. Detailed findings of the study, as well as caveats and limitations, are discussed in the paper.

Erratum to: Measuring the development of a common scientific lexicon in nanotechnology

Acknowledgments This research is supported by the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (National Science Foundation Awards 0531194 and 0937591). Philip Shapira further acknowledges additional support from the Project on Emerging Technologies, Trajectories and Implications of Next Generation Innovation Systems Development in China and Russia (Economic and Social Research Council, grant reference ES/J012785/1). The findings in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the research sponsors.