Cross-country analysis of the european ceramics industry: an international comparison of technology evolution through patent analysis in Spain and Italy

Abstract

[EN] This final Project consists of an analysis of the technological change and evolution of the ceramic industry, taking the work accomplished in my research support internship in the last academic year and building it up further. After a brief introduction, where the objet, related subjects, objectives and motivation will be explained, a theoretical framework will be presented. This comprises some basic definitions of terms related to innovation, a description of where innovation comes from and how is it measured. Patents will be explained, as well as the International Patent Classification (IPC), a hierarchical patent classification system used in more than 100 countries. Innovation dilemmas such as technology push and market pull, product and process innovation, open and closed innovation and the diffusion S-curve will also be commented on. This chapter ends distinguishing between disruptive innovation and sustaining innovation. Next, the empirical design will be specified. The ceramic industry changes and trends will be analyzed through the study of the evolution of patents, interpreted by means of their International Patent Classification (IPC). The methodology of data collection, the countries studied and its sources will be detailed here. Before concluding, results of the study will be described and presented in the form of tables, graphs and charts.