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Converging industries are characterized by the blurring of boundaries between technologies, markets and industry sectors. As such they can enable firms to access new markets or threaten them with an array of new competitors and a lack of knowledge. This makes an early identification of convergence trends highly important. In the present paper we focus on the application of a frequency-based analysis and visualization software (STN AnaVist) for the forecasting of converging industries. Scrutinizing 3,836 patent and scientific publication references on phytosterols in the areas of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, we employ research landscape, co-authorship and International Patent Classification (IPC) co-classification analyses. The results demonstrate partial convergence between the pharmaceutical, the chemical, the nutrition and the cosmetics industries and the suitability of the employed approach. According to this study, scientific as well as technology convergence have taken place in this segment, with a time-lag of roughly 25 years.

PurposeIn search for new ideas outside the firm's boundaries most companies choose to implement cooperation in the form of discrete projects, increasing the importance of project management. As research in this area so far mainly dealt with formalized instruments of process control, the purpose of this paper is to focus on personal aspects, particularly on the role of project leadership.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 84 biotechnological projects were analyzed. A standardized questionnaire was developed and sent out to research and development managers from the chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry. The level of analysis for the survey were single cooperative projects and basically regression statistics were employed.FindingsIt was found that the requirement for a stronger project leader is highly dependent on the degree of trust among team members and the administrative activity. In contrast, other factors, like the risk associated with a cooperative project, or the extent of upper management support are not significantly related to a stronger leader.Research limitations/implicationsAs only biotechnological projects were analyzed, other studies investigating the required project leadership style in other industries would be necessary to be able to generalize. Furthermore, there are several factors with a potential influence that could not be examined in this study.Practical implicationsThe findings would suggest to companies involved in cooperative projects that more emphasis should be put on the human factors of project management and not only on efficient instruments.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on the required strength of a project leader and should thus be of interest to managers trying to set up effective cooperative projects.