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Papers by Paul Nightingale

Research paper thumbnail of The innovation gap

Research paper thumbnail of Schumpeter’s theological roots? Harnack and the origins of creative destruction

Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 2014

This short research note highlights the similarity between Schumpeter's theory of creative destru... more This short research note highlights the similarity between Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction and the work of his contemporary, the German theologian Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930). The note provides a brief overview of Harnack's concepts and terminology and highlights their similarity to Schumpeterian ideas about routinisation, charismatic entrepreneurial leadership, and creative destruction. While the evidence is far from conclusive it does suggests that the similarity merits closer attention that could potentially lead to changes to the received understanding of the theory of creative destruction. In particular, it suggests a need to potential reassess the position of Schumpeter within a wider Weberian tradition.

Research paper thumbnail of Tacit Knowledge and Engineering Design

Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences, 2009

Publisher Summary Understanding what tacit knowledge is, and particularly how the concept is used... more Publisher Summary Understanding what tacit knowledge is, and particularly how the concept is used, is important for philosophers of technology because it is now a central concept in policy discussions related to engineering. It is used to explain why knowledge production is localized, cumulative and path-dependent, and therefore why designers, design teams, firms and regions differ in their technological performance. Given the impact of public policy related to the “knowledge economy,” there is a legitimate role for philosophers of technology to investigate the foundations of these ideas in more detail. This is particularly important because the terminology of tacit knowledge is applied very widely, but is rarely explicitly explained. Just what tacit knowledge is, and how it is valuable during the development of technology, is often itself a “tacit” concept. This chapter defines engineering as the art of organizing and negotiating the design, production, operation and decommissioning of artefacts, devices, systems and processes that fulfill useful functions by transforming the world to solve recognized problems. This hopefully highlights the practical, creative nature of engineering, with a clear connection to judgments and choices about solutions that achieve a balance between potentially conflicting outcomes in terms of their aesthetic, economic, environmental, technical and other criteria.

Research paper thumbnail of Peer review: 10 suggestions

Research paper thumbnail of Biosecurity, bioterrorism and the governance of science: The increasing convergence of science and security policy

Research Policy, 2007

Science and security policy are increasingly overlapping because of concerns that legitimate rese... more Science and security policy are increasingly overlapping because of concerns that legitimate research might be misapplied to develop biological weapons. This has led to an expansion of security policy to cover broad areas of research and scientific practice, including funding, publishing, peer-review, employment, materials transfer, postgraduate teaching and academics' ability to design and perform experiments and disseminate research. Such changes raise policy concerns because many of the technologies used to produce biological weapons are 'dual use' and have legitimate peaceful applications. As a result, attempts to control their generation, diffusion or application can have unintended impacts on socially beneficial applications. This paper explores recent changes in the governance of science and technology and contributes to future policy making by assessing the relative merits of understanding the development of dual use policy in terms of either technology transfer or technology convergence.

Research paper thumbnail of Innovation in Services: The Dynamics of Control Systems in Investment Banking

Economics of Science, Technology and Innovation, 2000

This chapter has the following aims. First, to show that a pattern of innovation in a number of s... more This chapter has the following aims. First, to show that a pattern of innovation in a number of service sectors can be conceptualised within a slightly modified version of Chandler’s’ scale and Scope’ framework. The second aim is to show how twentieth century service firms that process and authenticate information differ from manufacturing firms in the nineteenth century that processed physical materials. Processing information rather than physical materials reduces the dependence on manufacturing technology and therefore increases the emphasis within the Chandlerian framework on issues of control.

Research paper thumbnail of Science and technology studies: Exploring the knowledge base

Research Policy, 2012

Science and Technology Studies (STS) is one of a number of new research fields to emerge over the... more Science and Technology Studies (STS) is one of a number of new research fields to emerge over the last four or five decades. This paper attempts to identify its core academic contributions using the references that are most cited by the authors of chapters in a number of authoritative 'handbooks'. The study then analyses the impact of these contributions by exploring the research fields, journals, and geographical location of the researchers that have cited these core contributions in their own work. Together, these two analyses reveal the various phases in the development of STS and the various aspects of convergence and divergence of the field as the quantitative studies of science and technology gradually separated from the main body of STS. The paper ends with some conclusions about the evolution of STS such as the role of 'institution builders' in developing new research fields and the structures required to hold them together.

Research paper thumbnail of The myth of the biotech revolution: An assessment of technological, clinical and organisational change

Research Policy, 2007

Limits of the division of labour. New production and employment concepts in West German industry,... more Limits of the division of labour. New production and employment concepts in West German industry, the grace notes unstable. Localized technological change, however, babouvism integrates specific ontogeny, that we wanted to prove. Previous Previous article Next Next article Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution.

Research paper thumbnail of Tacit Knowledge

Handbook of Knowledge and Economics, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Organizing for innovation: towards successful translational research

Trends in Biotechnology, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of The myth of the biotech revolution

Trends in Biotechnology, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Big Pharma, little science?

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2014

There is a widespread perception that pharmaceutical R&D is facing a productivity crisis characte... more There is a widespread perception that pharmaceutical R&D is facing a productivity crisis characterised by stagnation in the numbers of new drug approvals in the face of increasing R&D costs. This study explores pharmaceutical R&D dynamics by examining the publication activities of all R&D laboratories of the major European and US pharmaceutical firms during the period 1995-2009. The empirical findings present an industry in transformation. In the first place, we observe a decline of the total number of publications by large firms. Second, we show a relative increase of their external collaborations suggesting a tendency to outsource, and a diversification of the disciplinary base, in particular towards computation, health services and more clinical approaches. Also evident is a more pronounced decline in publications by both R&D laboratories located in Europe and by firms with European headquarters. Finally, while publications by Big Pharma in emerging economies sharply increase, they remain extremely low compared with those in developed countries. In summary, the trend in this transformation is one of a gradual decrease in internal research efforts and increasing reliance on external research. These empirical insights support the view that large pharmaceutical firms are increasingly becoming 'networks integrators' rather than the prime locus of drug discovery.

Research paper thumbnail of Peer review and the relevance gap: ten suggestions for policy-makers

Science and Public Policy, 2007

Long-term changes in knowledge production can produce mismatches between the research that societ... more Long-term changes in knowledge production can produce mismatches between the research that society requires and the research that society produces — what we term 'relevance gaps'. This paper explores what can be done to close them. The paper argues that current ...

Research paper thumbnail of Strategic risk management using complementary assets: Organizational capabilities and the commercialization of human genetic testing in the UK

Research Policy, 2006

Teece's complementary asset framework explains how firms use assets to appropriate the benefits o... more Teece's complementary asset framework explains how firms use assets to appropriate the benefits of innovation. This paper extends Teece's framework to show how firms also use complementary assets to disappropriate the risks of technical change. Based on case studies of the commercialisation of genetic testing in the UK the paper shows how firms can strategically alter the social distribution of risk to their advantage by managing distinct types of risk using different institutions with diverse risk management capabilities. We highlight the specific risk management capabilities of the state that are not available to either firms or markets, and their role in supporting technical change. Implications for policy and the academic understanding of technical change are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Putting pharmacogenetics into practice

Nature Biotechnology, 2006

Genetics is slowly explaining variations in drug response, but applying this knowledge depends on... more Genetics is slowly explaining variations in drug response, but applying this knowledge depends on implementation of a host of policies that provide long-term support to the field, from translational research and regulation to professional education.

Research paper thumbnail of Dealing with uncertainty in complex projects: revisiting Klein and Meckling

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 2012

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the content and contributions of the article by ... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the content and contributions of the article by Klein and Meckling entitled “Application of operations research to development decisions” which was published in the journal Operations Research in May‐June 1958. The paper explores the major concepts and contributions in the article and suggests that these are relevant to today's complex and uncertain development projects.Design/methodology/approach – The paper outlines the context in which the research on which the article is based took place and presents the main ideas in the article which relate to decision making in the procurement and development of complex systems.Findings – The paper demonstrates the utility of the concepts in the original article, shows how they have been used in academic research on project management and innovation and that they are still relevant for both practical project management and project‐based research.Practical implications – The primary implication is to demonstrate the v...

Research paper thumbnail of If Nelson and Winter are only half right about tacit knowledge, which half? A Searlean critique of 'codification

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2003

The paper explores the inherent tensions in the relationships between different theories of knowl... more The paper explores the inherent tensions in the relationships between different theories of knowledge. The paper shows how Polanyi's rather nebulous concept of tacit knowledge can be given a rigorous foundation in recent biological treatments that link neurological ...

Research paper thumbnail of Capacity utilization revisited: software, control and the growth of large technical systems

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2003

This paper explains how a class of IT-intensive capital goods called control systems are used to ... more This paper explains how a class of IT-intensive capital goods called control systems are used to co-ordinate the flow of goods, traffic, materials, funds, services or information through complex supply, production or distribution systems. The paper examines how they increase ...

Research paper thumbnail of Economies of scale in experimentation: knowledge and technology in pharmaceutical R&D

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2000

This paper explores how changes in genetics, database, high-throughput screening and bioinformati... more This paper explores how changes in genetics, database, high-throughput screening and bioinformatics technologies have allowed pharmaceutical firms to exploit economies of scale in experimentation. Traditional craft-based, sequential experimentation in chemistry and biology has been complemented by firstly, the automated, mass-production analysis of populations and secondly, by 'in silico' experimentation using simulations and databases. The changes are analysed within a Chandlerian framework that highlights how increases in the 'throughput' of R&D are dependent on organizational and managerial responses to systemic uncertainty.

Research paper thumbnail of Muppets and gazelles: political and methodological biases in entrepreneurship research

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2013

Despite an almost universally accepted belief outside academia that entrepreneurial activity is a... more Despite an almost universally accepted belief outside academia that entrepreneurial activity is a positive driving force in the economy, the accumulated evidence remains largely inconclusive. This article positions the increased interest in entrepreneurship since the 1980s within its historical context and highlights the significant methodological problems with its analysis. Taking these problems into account it reevaluates the performance of entrepreneurial firms in terms of innovation, job creation, economic growth, productivity growth, and happiness to show how both positive and negative interpretations can emerge. A pattern of increasingly positive interpretation is observed as one moves from analysis to policy. To address this bias, the article suggests the single category "entrepreneurial firms" be broken up along a continuum from the large number of economically marginal, undersized, poor performance enterprises to the small number of high performance "gazelles" that drive most positive impact on the economy. This would allow a more realistic evaluation of the impact of entrepreneurs by avoiding a composition fallacy that assigns the benefits of entrepreneurship to the average firm.

Research paper thumbnail of The innovation gap

Research paper thumbnail of Schumpeter’s theological roots? Harnack and the origins of creative destruction

Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 2014

This short research note highlights the similarity between Schumpeter's theory of creative destru... more This short research note highlights the similarity between Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction and the work of his contemporary, the German theologian Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930). The note provides a brief overview of Harnack's concepts and terminology and highlights their similarity to Schumpeterian ideas about routinisation, charismatic entrepreneurial leadership, and creative destruction. While the evidence is far from conclusive it does suggests that the similarity merits closer attention that could potentially lead to changes to the received understanding of the theory of creative destruction. In particular, it suggests a need to potential reassess the position of Schumpeter within a wider Weberian tradition.

Research paper thumbnail of Tacit Knowledge and Engineering Design

Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences, 2009

Publisher Summary Understanding what tacit knowledge is, and particularly how the concept is used... more Publisher Summary Understanding what tacit knowledge is, and particularly how the concept is used, is important for philosophers of technology because it is now a central concept in policy discussions related to engineering. It is used to explain why knowledge production is localized, cumulative and path-dependent, and therefore why designers, design teams, firms and regions differ in their technological performance. Given the impact of public policy related to the “knowledge economy,” there is a legitimate role for philosophers of technology to investigate the foundations of these ideas in more detail. This is particularly important because the terminology of tacit knowledge is applied very widely, but is rarely explicitly explained. Just what tacit knowledge is, and how it is valuable during the development of technology, is often itself a “tacit” concept. This chapter defines engineering as the art of organizing and negotiating the design, production, operation and decommissioning of artefacts, devices, systems and processes that fulfill useful functions by transforming the world to solve recognized problems. This hopefully highlights the practical, creative nature of engineering, with a clear connection to judgments and choices about solutions that achieve a balance between potentially conflicting outcomes in terms of their aesthetic, economic, environmental, technical and other criteria.

Research paper thumbnail of Peer review: 10 suggestions

Research paper thumbnail of Biosecurity, bioterrorism and the governance of science: The increasing convergence of science and security policy

Research Policy, 2007

Science and security policy are increasingly overlapping because of concerns that legitimate rese... more Science and security policy are increasingly overlapping because of concerns that legitimate research might be misapplied to develop biological weapons. This has led to an expansion of security policy to cover broad areas of research and scientific practice, including funding, publishing, peer-review, employment, materials transfer, postgraduate teaching and academics' ability to design and perform experiments and disseminate research. Such changes raise policy concerns because many of the technologies used to produce biological weapons are 'dual use' and have legitimate peaceful applications. As a result, attempts to control their generation, diffusion or application can have unintended impacts on socially beneficial applications. This paper explores recent changes in the governance of science and technology and contributes to future policy making by assessing the relative merits of understanding the development of dual use policy in terms of either technology transfer or technology convergence.

Research paper thumbnail of Innovation in Services: The Dynamics of Control Systems in Investment Banking

Economics of Science, Technology and Innovation, 2000

This chapter has the following aims. First, to show that a pattern of innovation in a number of s... more This chapter has the following aims. First, to show that a pattern of innovation in a number of service sectors can be conceptualised within a slightly modified version of Chandler’s’ scale and Scope’ framework. The second aim is to show how twentieth century service firms that process and authenticate information differ from manufacturing firms in the nineteenth century that processed physical materials. Processing information rather than physical materials reduces the dependence on manufacturing technology and therefore increases the emphasis within the Chandlerian framework on issues of control.

Research paper thumbnail of Science and technology studies: Exploring the knowledge base

Research Policy, 2012

Science and Technology Studies (STS) is one of a number of new research fields to emerge over the... more Science and Technology Studies (STS) is one of a number of new research fields to emerge over the last four or five decades. This paper attempts to identify its core academic contributions using the references that are most cited by the authors of chapters in a number of authoritative 'handbooks'. The study then analyses the impact of these contributions by exploring the research fields, journals, and geographical location of the researchers that have cited these core contributions in their own work. Together, these two analyses reveal the various phases in the development of STS and the various aspects of convergence and divergence of the field as the quantitative studies of science and technology gradually separated from the main body of STS. The paper ends with some conclusions about the evolution of STS such as the role of 'institution builders' in developing new research fields and the structures required to hold them together.

Research paper thumbnail of The myth of the biotech revolution: An assessment of technological, clinical and organisational change

Research Policy, 2007

Limits of the division of labour. New production and employment concepts in West German industry,... more Limits of the division of labour. New production and employment concepts in West German industry, the grace notes unstable. Localized technological change, however, babouvism integrates specific ontogeny, that we wanted to prove. Previous Previous article Next Next article Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution.

Research paper thumbnail of Tacit Knowledge

Handbook of Knowledge and Economics, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Organizing for innovation: towards successful translational research

Trends in Biotechnology, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of The myth of the biotech revolution

Trends in Biotechnology, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Big Pharma, little science?

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2014

There is a widespread perception that pharmaceutical R&D is facing a productivity crisis characte... more There is a widespread perception that pharmaceutical R&D is facing a productivity crisis characterised by stagnation in the numbers of new drug approvals in the face of increasing R&D costs. This study explores pharmaceutical R&D dynamics by examining the publication activities of all R&D laboratories of the major European and US pharmaceutical firms during the period 1995-2009. The empirical findings present an industry in transformation. In the first place, we observe a decline of the total number of publications by large firms. Second, we show a relative increase of their external collaborations suggesting a tendency to outsource, and a diversification of the disciplinary base, in particular towards computation, health services and more clinical approaches. Also evident is a more pronounced decline in publications by both R&D laboratories located in Europe and by firms with European headquarters. Finally, while publications by Big Pharma in emerging economies sharply increase, they remain extremely low compared with those in developed countries. In summary, the trend in this transformation is one of a gradual decrease in internal research efforts and increasing reliance on external research. These empirical insights support the view that large pharmaceutical firms are increasingly becoming 'networks integrators' rather than the prime locus of drug discovery.

Research paper thumbnail of Peer review and the relevance gap: ten suggestions for policy-makers

Science and Public Policy, 2007

Long-term changes in knowledge production can produce mismatches between the research that societ... more Long-term changes in knowledge production can produce mismatches between the research that society requires and the research that society produces — what we term 'relevance gaps'. This paper explores what can be done to close them. The paper argues that current ...

Research paper thumbnail of Strategic risk management using complementary assets: Organizational capabilities and the commercialization of human genetic testing in the UK

Research Policy, 2006

Teece's complementary asset framework explains how firms use assets to appropriate the benefits o... more Teece's complementary asset framework explains how firms use assets to appropriate the benefits of innovation. This paper extends Teece's framework to show how firms also use complementary assets to disappropriate the risks of technical change. Based on case studies of the commercialisation of genetic testing in the UK the paper shows how firms can strategically alter the social distribution of risk to their advantage by managing distinct types of risk using different institutions with diverse risk management capabilities. We highlight the specific risk management capabilities of the state that are not available to either firms or markets, and their role in supporting technical change. Implications for policy and the academic understanding of technical change are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Putting pharmacogenetics into practice

Nature Biotechnology, 2006

Genetics is slowly explaining variations in drug response, but applying this knowledge depends on... more Genetics is slowly explaining variations in drug response, but applying this knowledge depends on implementation of a host of policies that provide long-term support to the field, from translational research and regulation to professional education.

Research paper thumbnail of Dealing with uncertainty in complex projects: revisiting Klein and Meckling

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 2012

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the content and contributions of the article by ... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the content and contributions of the article by Klein and Meckling entitled “Application of operations research to development decisions” which was published in the journal Operations Research in May‐June 1958. The paper explores the major concepts and contributions in the article and suggests that these are relevant to today's complex and uncertain development projects.Design/methodology/approach – The paper outlines the context in which the research on which the article is based took place and presents the main ideas in the article which relate to decision making in the procurement and development of complex systems.Findings – The paper demonstrates the utility of the concepts in the original article, shows how they have been used in academic research on project management and innovation and that they are still relevant for both practical project management and project‐based research.Practical implications – The primary implication is to demonstrate the v...

Research paper thumbnail of If Nelson and Winter are only half right about tacit knowledge, which half? A Searlean critique of 'codification

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2003

The paper explores the inherent tensions in the relationships between different theories of knowl... more The paper explores the inherent tensions in the relationships between different theories of knowledge. The paper shows how Polanyi's rather nebulous concept of tacit knowledge can be given a rigorous foundation in recent biological treatments that link neurological ...

Research paper thumbnail of Capacity utilization revisited: software, control and the growth of large technical systems

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2003

This paper explains how a class of IT-intensive capital goods called control systems are used to ... more This paper explains how a class of IT-intensive capital goods called control systems are used to co-ordinate the flow of goods, traffic, materials, funds, services or information through complex supply, production or distribution systems. The paper examines how they increase ...

Research paper thumbnail of Economies of scale in experimentation: knowledge and technology in pharmaceutical R&D

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2000

This paper explores how changes in genetics, database, high-throughput screening and bioinformati... more This paper explores how changes in genetics, database, high-throughput screening and bioinformatics technologies have allowed pharmaceutical firms to exploit economies of scale in experimentation. Traditional craft-based, sequential experimentation in chemistry and biology has been complemented by firstly, the automated, mass-production analysis of populations and secondly, by 'in silico' experimentation using simulations and databases. The changes are analysed within a Chandlerian framework that highlights how increases in the 'throughput' of R&D are dependent on organizational and managerial responses to systemic uncertainty.

Research paper thumbnail of Muppets and gazelles: political and methodological biases in entrepreneurship research

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2013

Despite an almost universally accepted belief outside academia that entrepreneurial activity is a... more Despite an almost universally accepted belief outside academia that entrepreneurial activity is a positive driving force in the economy, the accumulated evidence remains largely inconclusive. This article positions the increased interest in entrepreneurship since the 1980s within its historical context and highlights the significant methodological problems with its analysis. Taking these problems into account it reevaluates the performance of entrepreneurial firms in terms of innovation, job creation, economic growth, productivity growth, and happiness to show how both positive and negative interpretations can emerge. A pattern of increasingly positive interpretation is observed as one moves from analysis to policy. To address this bias, the article suggests the single category "entrepreneurial firms" be broken up along a continuum from the large number of economically marginal, undersized, poor performance enterprises to the small number of high performance "gazelles" that drive most positive impact on the economy. This would allow a more realistic evaluation of the impact of entrepreneurs by avoiding a composition fallacy that assigns the benefits of entrepreneurship to the average firm.