Expecting the Unexpected: Disruptive Technology Change Processes and the Electric Vehicle

Here we explore the role of possible disruptive technologies in the US automobile sector and the reaction of established firms to that threat. More specifically, US regulators have signalled a shift towards zero emission vehicles; threatening the hegemony of the high emission car built using conventional technology. This presents an opportunity to study the effect of regulation in shaping knowledge flows, an area somewhat neglected by innovation studies especially with regard to meeting environmental concerns. To do so, we use patent citations to explore knowledge flows in the development of the electric vehicle. Our analysis suggests that the strategic responses of the US incumbent firms have displayed a sophisticated short and long-term reaction.

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