Comparing the innovation strategies of Asian and European wind turbine firms through a patent lens

Based on a patent-analysis method, this paper compares the firm-level technology pathways of wind turbine firms across Asia and Europe, and examines the firms' specific innovation strategies that may lead to these pathways being modified in response to any opportunities that may arise. This paper finds that Asian wind turbine firms have different firm-level pathways compared to their European counterparts, whereby they are influenced by different innovation strategies that involve technology foci, learning and R&D collaboration, as well as globalization strategies. Specifically, European wind turbine firms are stronger in most of these strategic dimensions, which enables them to continue to take the lead in terms of technology innovation, while Asian wind turbine firms present a strong learning capacity and customized innovations so that they may challenge European firms in the markets. Based on the analysis, we propose that there might be a limited divergence of the sector-level technological trajectories between Asian and Europe. In addition, we suggest that there is limited opportunity for Asian wind turbine firms to leapfrog with regard to the existing technology trajectories and surpass their European counterparts in the near future. This study will be of interest to policy makers, industrialists, and academics.