A Patent-Based Approach for the Identification of Strategic Reactions to Technological Change: The Case of Emerging Battery Technologies

摘要

Assessments regarding the strategic reactions of companies towards technological change are highly complex and often lack generalization. Methods for analyzing company resources were rather applied than methods directly focusing on the respective strategic reactions. There is, however, a need for a methodology that provides a more comprehensive overview and enables an early recognition of strategic reactions to technological change, for example through the use of easily available secondary data. Thus, the aim of our study is the development of a patent-based approach to identify particular strategic reactions of respective companies towards technological change. Achieving this objective involves an analysis of patent activities for the case of relevant cell manufacturing companies of lithium-ion and post-lithium-ion battery technologies. The developed methodological approach could be applied successfully to the identification of strategic reactions in the battery field. From a practical point of view, our findings give detailed and above all early insights in strategic decisions and enable technology managers to better assess investment options in different technologies.