The technological innovation capabilities in Asian latecomers: patenting evidence from the solar photovoltaic industries of Taiwan, Korea, and China

This Thesis builds on work previously undertaken by scholars in industries such as semiconductors and flat panel displays to investigate innovation performance and knowledge flows as these industries diffuse from advanced countries (US, Japan and Europe) to catch-up follower countries (Taiwan, Korea and China). The aim is to investigate the emergent solar photovoltaic industry by updating and applying the arguments developed in the earlier studies. The solar photovoltaic industry is of particular interest in that its exploitation is poised between first generation crystalline silicon technologies and the newer technologies based on thin films and organic compounds. This study is distinctive in that it exploits two patent datasets for solar PV technologies, from the US Patent and Trademark Office and from the Europe Patent Office; it approaches these datasets in two stages, singling out three generations of technology and four technology platforms underpinning the evolving knowledge flows and innovative technological capabilities of the solar photovoltaic industry in the Asian latecomers. A set of stylized facts is identified and used to frame the research contribution of this Thesis. The main results demonstrate that the knowledge sources for building innovation capabilities in the three latecomer countries are gradually shifting from a principal reliance on exogenous technological forerunners (US, Japan et al.) towards a greater dependence on indigenous knowledge and internalization capability, while accommodating to diverse national innovation systems. This illustrates the latecomers’ transition and transformation from imitators to innovators in the setting of the global solar photovoltaic industry. Clear policy implications for other latecomer countries and future research are also elaborated.