On-site PhD conferral Emanuela Sirtori

Keywords: technological trajectory, LED, market entry             

"LED there be light The evolution in LED technology and dynamics of entry into the LED lighting market"

This thesis provides new evidence on the relationship between technological change and the emergence of new markets. It does so by studying the evolution of the Light-Emitting Diode (LED) technology and its transformative power on the lighting industry. It illustrates how research in different technological fields evolved following distinct but interconnected paths, which proved to be instrumental in enhancing the LED technology towards its application for general lighting in the late 1990s. Firms that had invested in those technological fields found themselves in a better position to enter the nascent LED lighting devices market earlier than others. These firms included companies that were already operating in the lighting industry, but also new players diversifying from other sectors, and newly established companies attracted by the commercialization prospects offered by LED. Overall, by combining theories and methods from different disciplines, this research gains a richer understanding of technological evolution and the factors determining the firms’ behavior under uncertain and evolving market conditions.

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