Infrastructure for Emergent Industries Based on Discontinuous Innovations

Abstract

AbstractA model of infrastructure development for emergent industries based on discontinuous innovations is offered. This model was developed in response to the lack of infrastructure needed for an industry to thrive. Such a model is needed, since Japan, Europe, and the U.S. have attempted with various degrees of success to nurture strategic industries through various policies, including the support of absent but needed infrastructure. The emergent industry based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technologies is used to demonstrate how an infrastructure gradually grows to support a new industry, resulting from discontinuous innovation. The model indicates the evolving nature of the actions and investments that firms and governments need to make to support the growth of an immature industry. In this article, we offer a descriptive model as well as guidance—to firms on whether their intentions and resources fit with the state of the industry, and to policy makers on the timing of different types of support.