CEI-Iscte researcher Cristina Sousa, in collaboration with Margarida Fontes and Juliana Barbosa, has published the article ‘Intersectoral Knowledge Spaces of Emerging Technologies and Innovation Opportunities for Established Industrial Sectors’ in the Journal of the Knowledge Economy.
The study examines how the emergence of new sustainable technologies can drive innovation and transformation in established industrial sectors. Using marine renewable energy as a case study, the authors develop and test an analytical framework that helps to understand how the combination of knowledge from different sectors creates new opportunities for innovation and business diversification.
The research maps the cross-sectoral knowledge spaces that have emerged during the rise of this technology and demonstrates that the position occupied by different sectors within these knowledge networks influences their opportunities for innovation. In particular, it shows that the diversity of links established and the degree of proximity or distance between sectors determine companies’ ability to recombine knowledge and explore new areas of business.
The findings contribute to the literature on the transformative effects of emerging technologies on industrial systems, identifying the mechanisms through which knowledge linkages between sectors foster innovation. The study also offers relevant insights for the formulation of public policies that align sustainability objectives with industrial development strategies.
Read the article here.