Mapping general purpose technologies with patent data

Abstract This article develops a three-dimension indicator to capture the main features of General Purpose Technologies (GPTs) in patent data. Technologies are evaluated based on their scope for improvement and elaboration, the variety of products and processes that use them, and their complementarity with existing and new technologies. Technologies’ scope for improvement is measured using patenting growth rates. The range of its uses is mapped by implementing a text-mining algorithm that traces technology-specific vocabulary in the universe of all available patent documents. Finally, complementarity with other technologies is measured using the co-occurrence of technological claims in patents. These indicators are discussed and evaluated using widely studied examples of GPTs such as Electric & Electronic (at the beginning of the 20th century) and Computer & Communications. These measures are then used to propose a simple way of identifying GPTs with patent data. It is shown there exist a positive association between the rate of adoption of GPTs in sectors, measured in terms of the number of GPT patents, and their growth.

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