[4] With respect to the latter, the approach has especially proven itself in explaining why and how sustainable (energy) technologies have developed and diffused into a society, or have failed to do so.
[8] The focus on entrepreneurial action has encouraged scholars to consider a Technological Innovation System as something to be built up over time.
In the presence of an entrepreneur and sufficient critical mass, such networks can be transformed into development blocks, i.e. synergistic clusters of firms and technologies within an industry or a group of industries.’[9] This means that a Technological Innovation System may be analyzed in terms of its system components and/or in terms of its dynamics.
An example would be a coalition of firms jointly working on the application of a fuel cell, guided by a set of problem-solving routines and supported by a subsidy program.
An analysis of structures typically yields insight into systemic features - complementarities and conflicts - that constitute drivers and barriers for technology diffusion at a certain moment or within a given period in time.
For this reason, mostly, the scholars have recently enriched the literature on Technological Innovation Systems with studies that focus on the build-up of structures over time.
The central idea of this approach is to consider all activities that contribute to the development, diffusion, and use of innovations as system functions.
Recently scholars have increasingly paid attention to the question of how cumulative causation may be established, often with a particular focus on the development of sustainable energy technologies.
In this age of rapid innovation and complexity, it is challenging for the firms to develop internally and remain competitive at the same time.
Merger, acquisition and alliance are some of the ways to achieve this, but the primary driver is the desire to obtain valuable resources.
Improper documentation and changing implicit knowledge makes it difficult to share information during acquisition.
Detailed knowledge exchange and integrations are difficult when the acquired firm is large and high performing.
Management of executives from acquired firm is critical in terms of promotions and pay incentives to utilize their talent and value their expertise.