Comparison of Innovation Systems of Different Transport Modes and the Need for Public Intervention

Abstract

The transport modes road, rail, air and maritime differ in terms of how innovations are developed and brought to the market. These differences suggest that the role of policy environment and policy support to stimulate such innovations varies between the modes. The objective of the paper is to extend existing analyses of the innovation systems of all modes and to compare them with regard to the type of public intervention required to foster the innovativeness of a mode and potentially also to gain/increase lead market effects by the public support. The research builds on innovation system analysis though this focuses either on technological innovation systems (TIS) or national innovation systems (NIS). In contrast we propose a kind of sectoral innovation systems (SIS) for which few examples exist. We extend the analysis of SIS by findings from the German High Tech Strategy on future markets and transport technologies that confirm by analysis patents and publications that the EU is a leader in transport technology innovation. However, this is not the case for all modes and the reasons seem to emerge from the supply and demand side of the markets. Therefore the European and Global markets are also compared across modes. The analysis differentiates innovations in vehicle technologies and infrastructures. For the vehicle technologies the conclusion on how innovations emerge is the following: • road vehicles: private initiative and funding, stimulated by regulation; • rail vehicles: dominated by public institutions in particular on demand sides, hampered by limited markets but globally future market growth is expected; • air planes: mixed private/public markets in which innovation is stimulated by market expectations and safety requirements; • ships: private markets in which innovation is hampered by limited regulations. The market analysis suggests that concerning vehicles in particular public intervention related to the rail mode could be required to foster innovations. To a lesser extent this holds for the ship sector as well. In terms of infrastructures the combination of infrastructures with IT technologies seems to be the field most interesting for public intervention. European transport policy prioritizing rail and ship mode and requiring technical standards or performance standards may enable that in these modes innovativeness is increased such that additional innovations would be generated and lead market effects could be nurtured.

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