University-industry collaboration networks for the creation of innovation: A comparative analysis of the development of lead-free solders in Japan, Europe and the United States

This study examined how collaboration networks are formed among university, industry and the public sector and work for the creation of innovation, analyzing the case of the development of lead-free solders in the electric and electronic industry in Japan, Europe, and the United States. The structure of innovation networks on lead-free solders is analyzed with quantitative methods of social network analysis, based on data on the membership of research and development projects and scientific papers. While initiatives to regulate the use of lead for soldering were made earlier in the United States, development and adoption of lead-free solders progressed significantly in Japan through the formation of research and development networks. To implement an effective transition to lead-free solders, cooperation and coordination was indispensable among relevant actors, including those working on chip implementation, solders, manufacturing equipment, parts, devices, print boards, and measurement instruments. In the absence of a domestic institutional framework for regulating the use of lead, it was crucial that university researchers, working from a relatively neutral position, took the initiative in creating collaboration networks for the formulation of industry-wide roadmaps for technological development and implementation, evaluation and standardization of various specifications, and accumulation of scientific and technological knowledge. (c) 2006 PICMET.