The innovative fulcrums of technological interdisciplinarity: An analysis of technology fields in patents

Abstract

Technological interdisciplinarity and integrative development have been issues of academic discourse for some time; several studies have contributed to the investigation of techno-society and technology development. Nevertheless, the interdisciplinary technology present in a patent system remains insufficiently explored. This study examines the patents in the USPTO database from 2001 to 2014 that identifies unique structural configurations of various technology fields. The study result finds the brokerage of technological positions perform an innovative fulcrum for interdisciplinary innovation, strategizing several important innovative capabilities. Furthermore, the technological embeddedness incubates innovative capacity; technological push and pull promotes the process of endogenous, exogenous, and heterogeneous innovation and technological evolution. Therefore, this study addresses implications to both theory and practice in sustaining innovative capabilities.