The Rise of CFD: Analysing System Builders' Role in the Creation of Technological Innovation Systems

Abstract

The starting juncture of technological innovation system (TIS), an extension of the system of innovation (SI) lens, is where a system of interacting actors is established. TIS is arguably one of the most commonly used lenses in the study of development and diffusion of breakthrough innovation (BTI). The current scholarship has ignored the vital first step namely the establishment of the system starting from a juncture where a functioning TIS is in existence. The literature also alludes to the important role of system builder without unfolding the concept fully. In this paper, using a comparative case study on the emergence of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), we examine system builder’s role, attributes and actions in pursuit of establishing a TIS for a BTI. We also examine how the proximal formal and informal institution affect system builders’ capacity to establish a TIS. As a result of the analysis, the paper extends knowledge by developing a descriptive theory on the orchestrated establishment of TIS.