Social scientists commenting on developments in the life sciences have suggested that the rise of genomics in the field of human genetics does not only involve a shift in the research agenda from relatively rare monogenetic disorders to multifactorial, common diseases, but also involves a...

In this article we introduce the notion of entrenchment to conceptualize the processes in which new technological options, through the interactions between a variety of actors, become viable and established practices in society, both satisfying and modifying needs and interests. The notion of...

This book analyzes the possibilities for effective global governance of science in Europe, India and China. Authors from the three regions join forces to explore how ethical concerns over new technologies can be incorporated into global science and technology policies. The first chapter...

As the majority of new products fail it is important to focus on the needs and preferences of the consumers in new product development. Consumers are increasingly recognised as important co-developers of innovations, often developing new functions for technologies, solving unforeseen problems...

User involvement is assumed to be beneficial to innovation processes. Intermediary user organisations contribute to articulating societal demands for innovations. However, the learning processes inside these organisations are still not understood well. Therefore, this paper empirically...

This paper focuses on the processes and strategies of advocates and opponents in creating, maintaining and/or contesting the protective spaces in which ‘urgently needed’ but ‘risky’ pharmaceutical innovations are managed. Drawing on transition literature and recent work on niche...

Innovation is an interactive learning process which is of special interest for emerging technologies in which complex complementary knowledge from heterogeneous stakeholders is combined. In the emerging phase of technology development a lot of knowledge is tacit and can only be transferred...