Examining the Role of Actors in an Emerging Technological System: The Case of POC Devices

This paper examines the role of actors in an emerging technological innovation system (TIS)– micro/nanofluidic-based point-of-care (mnPOC) devices. We hypothesize that the evolution of formative innovation systems can be inferred from the changes experienced by actors and the knowledge networks they build. Compared with other studies, we enhanced our discussions with multiple data sources that integrate scientific publications, patents, regulatory approvals, and news. We study the impact of the types of actors on the scientific, technological, and market performances of the TIS mnPOC by examining general technology trends, characterize relevant actors, and analyze knowledge networks. Our findings illustrate how the initial phases of TIS mnPOC closely follow the typical patterns of emerging technologies: increasing scientific and technological research efforts, growing number of new entrant firms, heavy scientific weight, high geographical concentration, and domination by small- and medium-sized enterprises. We also observed unique features, such as the significant influence of large firms considering their roles as intermediary organizations in R& D collaborations, novelty originators through spinoff creation, and innovation support through mergers and acquisitions. Collaboration networks are sparse, reflecting their complementarities in innovation value chains. Our results inform researchers and practitioners about the necessity of understanding the specificities and heterogeneities of emerging TIS for the development of effective system interventions.