A Study on Dynamic Patterns of Technology Convergence with IPC Co-Occurrence-Based Analysis: The Case of 3D Printing

Ying Tang,Chengjin Zhang,Zifeng Chen,Xuming Lou

doi:10.3390/su12072655

Abstract

Technology convergence has become a typical characteristic of innovation, which affects the evolution of industrial structures and the core competitiveness of organizations. However, the existing research has mainly focused on the development of core areas of convergence, ignoring the potential breakthroughs that emerging peripheral convergence may bring. Therefore, this research put forward a comprehensive methodology based on IPC (International Patent Classification) co-occurrence analysis to study the dynamic patterns of technology convergence from the perspectives of reinforcing convergence and novel convergence. For the former, convergence trends in each period were explored by using association rules, and the convergence degree was measured based on the number of patents containing different IPC codes. Then, the corresponding core technical fields were identified by using information entropy. For the latter, a community detection algorithm based on IPC co-occurrence network was adopted to investigate the convergence trend by period, and important technology fields were identified by the centrality indicators. The methodology proposed in this study is beneficial for firms to seize technological opportunities in technology convergence.

Highlights

In recent decades, with the intensification of market competition and increasing changeability of consumer demand, organizations are confronting more challenges to innovate faster, at a lower cost, and with more competition
In view of the large number of patents involved in this study and the need to meet the convergence measurement conditions, the FP-Growth algorithm was selected to mine association rules with a length of 2
We proposed a comprehensive methodology to study technology convergence patterns

Summary

Introduction

With the intensification of market competition and increasing changeability of consumer demand, organizations are confronting more challenges to innovate faster, at a lower cost, and with more competition. As a significant feature of current innovation trends, technology convergence has brought new opportunities for organizations to deal with challenges and obtain competitive advantages [2,3,4,5]. Some research has illustrated that innovation brought by technology convergence can improve technical functions and enhance product competitiveness, but it can result in disruptive innovation and create new industries [6,7,8]. Identifying and anticipating the patterns of technology convergence are beneficial for firms to optimize resource allocation and seize innovation opportunities for further progress or even leapfrog development. Given that technology convergence is an important channel to generate disruptive innovation [6], this study conducted a comprehensive analysis of technology convergence both from its center and periphery to overcome the limitations of previous research and help organizations optimize resource allocation and achieve sustainable development

Methods

Results

Conclusion