Newly emerging science and technologies (NEST) are shaped by dynamics of promises. There is a paradoxical effect: diffuse and open-ended promises are forceful in policy discourse, but may hinder the realisation of these promises. Innovation actors are reluctant to invest in concrete developments because the promises are open-ended, and eventual demand is not articulated. This is a structural issue, and leads to 'waiting games' in which actors are entangled. We show how the occurrence of waiting games is linked to dual dynamics of promises in two fields where nanotechnology offers an open-ended ('umbrella') promise: organic and large area electronics and nano-enabled drug delivery. Based on such understanding of dynamics, our scenario exercises explored strategies to overcome waiting games.
Emerging technologies pose challenges for futures research because of their uncertainties combined with promises. Actors are anticipating and acting strategically. Sociotechnical scenarios building on endogenous futures support and enlighten actors. Such scenarios contribute to "strategic intelligence" about the technologies and their embedding in society. Organic and large area electronics promise to substitute silicon-based technologies, but firms and potential users are reluctant to invest. Ways to break through this "waiting game" are the starting point for scenarios that were developed as in an input in strategy articulation workshops with different stakeholders and third parties. The scenarios are offered as they were an input in the workshops and are annotated to show the robustness of their construction. Recent developments confirm the diagnosis of the dynamics of the domain. Keywords Scenarios. Endogenous futures. Waiting games. Organic and large area electronics. Strategy articulation workshops 1 It has actually been developed and applied for other domains by Robinson (cf. [2]), Parandian (cf. [3]), and Te Kulve (cf. [4]).
To achieve sustainability across the product life cycle, attention to the production process is a prerequisite. As a result of technological advancements, innovation and inventions in production methods are in full swing. Production methods that enable mass customisation (MC) are one of the recent developments in the production domain. This study aims to empirically explore the sustainability impact of two MC-oriented production methods, namely, additive manufacturing (i.e., Selective Laser Sintering) and subtractive manufacturing (Computer Numerical Control Milling) within two complete production lines (i.e., from raw material to assembly) for a wearable product. In the context of the triple bottom line framework, the production lines are analysed from an economic, environmental, and social standpoint. A Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) is used to quantify and compare both production systems with their inherent variability in a dynamic setting of fluctuating order volume and diversity. The findings of the simulation are qualitatively evaluated using expert interviews. This study provides a detailed insight into several sustainability trade-offs in production systems where additive and subtractive manufacturing are involved.
Newly emerging science and technologies (NEST) are shaped by dynamics of promises. There is a paradoxical effect: diffuse and open-ended promises are forceful in policy discourse, but may hinder the realisation of these promises. Innovation actors are reluctant to invest in concrete developments because the promises are open-ended, and eventual demand is not articulated. This is a structural issue, and leads to 'waiting games' in which actors are entangled. We show how the occurrence of waiting games is linked to dual dynamics of promises in two fields where nanotechnology offers an open-ended ('umbrella') promise: organic and large area electronics and nano-enabled drug delivery. Based on such understanding of dynamics, our scenario exercises explored strategies to overcome waiting games.
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