Veröffentlichungen von Lukas Müller

Convergence is a frequently discussed phenomenon of digital innovation and is reflected in the merging of previously separate areas. Convergence takes place on various levels, one of them being technological convergence which serves as a main factor for the other levels of convergence, e.g. product or industry convergence. The phenomenon of technological convergence has already been theoretically studied. However, in an increasingly digitized world, we do not understand how and to what extent technological convergence is driven by digitization and how this effect becomes empirically manifest. In our analysis of a longitudinal patent data set consisting of over four million patents, we compare digital vs. non-digital patents and thus are able to show and quantify the impact of digitization on technological convergence. We show that (1) technological convergence is not solely a fundamentally digital phenomenon and (2) boundaries between digital and non-digital patents become blurrier over time. We conclude by indicating future avenues for research on the impact of digitization.

Digital convergence is frequently discussed in research. The concept of convergence describes how formerly separate areas are increasingly merging. So far, however, we have only a rudimentary understanding of digital convergence for several reasons. First, digital convergence is not clearly conceptualized and used differently across contexts. Second, we have little insight into what is converging and at what pace. We conceptualize digital convergence by arguing that its sociotechnical nature requires jointly considering technical and social aspects. Our analysis of a longitudinal patent data set covering 31 years and 677,045 patents from 124 industries shows that (1) industry boundaries defined by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) are dissolving as companies interact with technological knowledge outside their industrial boundaries. (2) Specific technology classes defined in the International Patent Classification (IPC) increasingly cite - and converge with - other technology classes. We close by highlighting promising avenues for future research on digital convergence.