Overview

This book is the first attempt to systematically introduce the aspect of time into economic and environmental innovation policy. The authors demonstrate how 'windows of opportunity' for technological innovations emerge and also explain how they can be identified and effectively exploited. Technological innovations are widely considered as an opportunity to realise a double dividend - protect the environment and increase profits by introducing a more sustainable technology. However, intervention by the state is often needed to overcome the competitive disadvantage caused by externalities, path dependency and lock-in. The authors provide extensive evidence that this resistance to technological change is subject to substantial temporal variation. They argue that it is economically and politically sensible to identify periods of time in which resistance is weakest and to exploit these 'windows of opportunity' whenever and wherever they occur. They also highlight how time strategies for innovation policy can involve the preparation and creation of 'windows' which do not yet exist. Throughout the book, they use an array of varied and interesting case studies to confirm and illustrate their theoretical findings. These address issues such as CFC phase-out, the lean-burn engine versus the catalytic converter, ecological alternatives to chemical pesticides and the zero emission vehicle mandate in California.

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9781845420901

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Reviews

'Timeliness is a particularly relevant issue in the field of innovation and diffusion research. This book originates from the observation that innovations are time critical and asks the question: when and how do windows of opportunity for new environmental technologies emerge and why do they disappear again? By analysing these windows of opportunity and possible time strategies for innovation policies, this book represents a highly topical contribution to a front line issue in environmental and innovation research. The theoretical framework is applied to well-investigated and highly informative case studies to produce an interesting, insightful and coherent volume.' - Joseph Huber, Martin-Luther-University, Halle, Germany

Author Information

Edited by Christian Sartorius, Research Fellow, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Karlsruhe, Germany and Stefan Zundel, Professor of Economics, University of Applied Sciences Lausitz, Senftenberg, Germany

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