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On a path to creative destruction: science, technology and science-based technological trajectories of Japan and South Korea

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Abstract

This study attempts to examine systematically the growth trajectories of science, technology and science-based technologies of Japan and South Korea. Drawing upon the empirical materials and findings, this paper provides a detailed description of the evolution and pathways taken by Japan and South Korea to achieve growth in science and technology. Both the quantities (number of papers and patents) and impact (citations) measures of research activities are used to provide a coherent depiction of progress and development trajectories. Japan and South Korea achieved significant progress in production of science and technology. However, both economies experienced a sharp contraction in the number of citations per new patent since the mid 2000s. To address their structural systemic failure, Japan and South Korea have invested heavily in scientific areas that concord with the next wave of technological innovations. The effort has recorded positive effects on science-based technological growth trajectories.

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Notes

  1. This development scheme is used by Schumpeter to describe the nature of creative destruction, a process in which the old system is replaced by a new one.

  2. Low science linkage to technology does not imply low university-industry research co-operation in the development of the related technology.

  3. Schmoch (2007) observed a typical sequence of the development process that starts from scientific production, which leads to technological development, and finally to socio-economic development. The activities include telecommunication engineering, biomedical, IC design, optoelectronics and material science. Jarvenpaa et al. (2011) studied patenting and publishing activities of few technologies to understand the common sequence of stages over an industrial life-cycle.

  4. The new technologies may eventually disrupt the position of incumbent technologies.

  5. For detailed discussion on logistic growth function, see Wong and Goh (2010a, b); (Wong and Chandran 2012).

  6. Many research programs were established to equip Schumpeterian entrepreneurs with knowledge to invest in new high-tech sectors.

  7. Japan and South Korea have been pursuing economic growth via electronics and semiconductor industries. Scientific knowledge production systems of Japan and South Korea are therefore active and strong in specific fields pertaining to applied physics, engineering sciences and chemistry.

  8. For instance, investment in human capital for knowledge development has been given priority in development policy formulation.

  9. The old technologies may have reached stabilization along the growth trajectories.

  10. The current domain of innovation is ICT which is expected to be replaced by nanotechnology in the next few decades (Devedaz et al. 2005).

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Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to two anonymous referees for helpful comments and suggestions. The author would like to thank Dr. Siti Nurani, the head of Department of Science and Technology Studies of the University of Malaya, for her support in the subscribing to the research materials for this paper. The funding from the University of Malaya to support this research project is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Science and Technology Studies, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Chan-Yuan Wong

  2. Institute of Technology Management, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Kuang-Fu Road, Section 2, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan

    Chan-Yuan Wong

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Correspondence to Chan-Yuan Wong.

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Wong, CY. On a path to creative destruction: science, technology and science-based technological trajectories of Japan and South Korea. Scientometrics 96, 323–336 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-012-0941-0

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