While many studies have looked at innovation and adoption of technologies separately, the two processes are linked … combines plant-level data on U.S. coal-fired electric power plants with patent data pertaining to NOx pollution control …

. The paper applies the lead market concept. Lead markets are markets that adopt an innovation before it is adopted by most … other countries and therefore lead the global diffusion of the innovation. The most important technological trajectory for … innovative technology within this trajectory. As for the diffusion of SC, the paper concentrates on Germany, USA, China and Japan …