Lacasa, ID; Grupp, H; Schmoch, U "Tracing technological change over long periods in Germany in chemicals using patent statistics " SCIENTOMETRICS 57 (2). 2003. p.175-195

[Eugene Garfield]

I.D. Lacasa :  idl at isi.fhg.de

TITLE:          Tracing technological change over long periods in Germany
                in chemicals using patent statistics (Article, English)
AUTHOR:         Lacasa, ID; Grupp, H; Schmoch, U
SOURCE:         SCIENTOMETRICS 57 (2). 2003. p.175-195

ABSTRACT:       This contribution deepens the feasibility issues of
building state-of-the-art patent indicators wit h historical patent
documents available in electronic form from the German Patent Office
since the introduction of the Patent Law for the German Empire in 1877.
The paper is divided into two parts : a methodological discussion and a
case study on the chemical sector in Germany. The development of the
technology sector defined matches remarkably well with stylised facts
that institutional analysis in the chemical sector have provided us with
so far. Moreover, the possibility of varying the level of aggregation in
the analysis of technological are as discloses empirical evidence for the
path-dependent development in the chemical sector after the advent of the
organic chemistry and its application in the chemical synthesis of dye
stuffs. Our findings enhance institutional and historical contributions
about technological change in the chemical sector and suggest new
research questions for innovation studies.

AUTHOR ADDRESS: ID Lacasa, Fraunhofer Inst Syst & Innovat Res, Breslauer
                Str 48, D-76139 Karlsruhe, Germany