Innovation Networks in the German Laser Industry ― Evolutionary Change, Strategic Positioning, and Firm Innovativeness

Technological innovation is fundamental to firm performance and economic prosperity. The aim of this book is to contribute to an in-depth understanding of collective innovation processes by analyzing publicly funded R&D cooperation and innovation networks in the German laser industry. Standing in a neo-Schumpeterian tradition, it employs interdisciplinary analytical concepts and draws upon a unique longitudinal dataset from the laser industry that covers more than two decades of observations. In brief, the book makes a valuable contribution by exploring how and why firm-specific R&D cooperation activities and network positions, large-scale network patterns, and evolutionary network change processes affect the innovative performance of laser source manufacturers in Germany.

Dr. Muhamed Kudic was a PhD fellow and Post Doc researcher at the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), Department for Structural Economics. He successfully defended his doctoral thesis in December 2012 at the University of Hohenheim, Germany. He currently holds position as scientific advisor at the Stifterverband, Department for Statistical Analysis. His main fields of occupation are economics and management of innovation drawing on microeconometric estimation approaches and stochastic simulation techniques. His research focuses on the structural evolution of interorganizational innovation networks. He is particularly interested in the analysis of causes and consequences of network change processes in science-driven industries.