Bringing forth sustainability innovation in the electronic industry: The case of lead-free solders

摘要

The structure of university-industry collaboration networks for developing lead-free solders is analyzed with the quantitative methods of social network analysis, based on data on the participants in research and development projects. Initiatives to regulate the use of lead in the United States influenced the formation of university-industry collaboration network for the development and adoption of lead-free solders in Japan. The network promoted cooperation and coordination among the relevant actors, including those working on chip implementation, solders, manufacturing equipment, parts, devices, printed circuit boards, and measurement instruments in implementing an effective transition to lead-free solders. The demonstration of technological progress in Japan in turn encouraged the introduction of a stringent regulation for the phase-out of lead-containing solders in Europe, leading to further formation of networks for technological development and adoption in other regions. Not involved in a domestic institutional network for regulating the use of lead, the university researchers in Japan, working from a relatively neutral position, took the initiative in creating international networks for the formulation of world-wide roadmaps for technological development and implementation, standardization of various specifications, and exchange and sharing of scientific and technological knowledge. This study illustrates that university-industry collaboration networks promoted environmental innovation through global co-evolution of technology and institution.