Books in the Technology, Innovation and Policy (ISI) series

Innovations for our Future describes not only the big development trends of the future in research and technology, but also the re-discovery of the Delphi method.

The aim of this study is to investigate in the role of Venture Capital in the development of New Technology Based Firms in two countries: USA and Germany.

In Japan, the Delphi method has been used since 1971 to predict possible technological developments. Possible realization goals, constraints on their achievement, the current R&D level of the two nations and the necessity of international co-operation all give hints on tomorrow's technology and its economic and societal impacts.

The current decade has stressed the reinforcement of three major trends affecting developed economies since at least half a century. The frrst trend concerns the im­ portance of innovations for fIrms, regions and nations. Even if innovation, however defmed, is not a recent phenomenon, the crucial role innovativeness plays in a world of increased competition reveals its importance as a major economic phe­ nomenon. A second prominent trend corresponds to the "tertiarisation of the econ­ omy", i. e. the considerable and continuous expansion of the share of services in contemporary economies. 1 The third trend consists in the substantial changes af­ fecting the economical meaning of "space". Signs of these substantial changes can be found in the increased unity of "space" (the globalisation phenomenon), in the appearance of new territories (as suggested by the emergence of a "virtual conti­ nent"2) as well as in the reconsideration of existing ones (for instance, induced by new flexible production systems). As such, these three trends express a triple break­ down: a breakdown in the time scale of the economy (due to the increasing velocity of economic activities), a breakdown in the nature of the economy (since "intangi­ ble production" is expanding) and a breakdown in the space(s) of the economy (be­ cause of shifting dimensions). Certain categories of activities or actors may high­ light and even symbolise this triple rupture in diverse ways.

Much of the research on transformation/transition in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) focuses on macroeconomic issues (inflation, economic growth, employment ...). Readers of this book will learn about the role played by these firms in the transformation of central and eastern European countries.