The article “Technology strategies in converging technology systems: Evidence from printed electronics”, which was published by Prof. Dr. Stefanie Bröring together with Dr. Annika Wambsganss (TU Berlin), Prof. Dr. Sören Salomo (TU Berlin) and Dr. Nathalie Sick (UTS Sydney) in the Journal of Product Innovation Management (VHB, A), has now been awarded the Jürgen Hauschildt Prize by the Commission for Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TIE) of the Association of University Professors of Business Administration (VHB).

The article builds on the research focus “Technology Dynamics” or “Convergence” of the Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Business Models. Technology convergence describes the process of previously separate areas of technology growing together, creating entirely new technology systems. This can be observed in the converging field of “printed electronics”, in which components and system architectures from technology areas of materials science and electrical engineering converge. The article addresses the question of which technology strategies companies use to operate in new, complex technology systems characterized by an emergent system architecture and to build up both component and design knowledge in the process. To answer this question, the patenting behavior of 74 companies in the context of “printed electronics” was empirically examined over a period of 30 years. The resulting data set comprises 828 patents. A new measure, “Technology Systems Coverage”, was derived and operationalized from the findings, thus contributing to the understanding of “technology strategies”.

The article is available as open access here.