Patent analysis as an input to strategy: case of electric vehicle industry

Abstract

This research work examines technological developments of an emerging field from the perspective of patented innovations and major industry players. The selected domain of the study is the electric vehicle (EV) industry, which represents an emerging technological field driven by innovations. Patent-to-patent citation information and entities associated with each patent (i.e. patent holder, technology field, country) were utilized for the visualization of the relationship between patents in the form of a network. Bibliographic coupling (BC) is the methodology used to establish these relationships. From the viewpoint of companies, this relationship indicates similarities in the technological development direction and areas of R&D activities, suggesting for possible competition or cooperation. From the perspective of patented technology, the association indicates that the technologies or their applications are closely related. The focus of the study is placed on the possibilities and limitations provided by patent analysis based on BC, so to facilitate further exploration and application of this methodology as a valuable tool for the support of managers' assessment of technological environment in real time and planning of the R&D projects within an emerging field. Managers can use patent maps as an additional source of information and communication support in the strategic decision-making process. Using the bibliographic information of patents, the technological landscape and recent developments in EV sector during the recent six years were analyzed based on the statistical examination and the graph theory provided by social network analysis. Citation networks were divided into clusters, the patent assignee in each cluster were tracked, and citation networks with characteristic technology field for each cluster were analyzed. Overall structural changes of the EV industry were explored by categorizing patent assignees into four main groups, i.e. automotive OEMs, suppliers, infrastructure providers and other players, and exploring the changes in patenting activities between these groups. Analysis of patent network dynamics reveals the changes in the structure of innovation landscape within an emerging field of EVs. Expert opinion of a Finnish automaker was included in the analysis of this study. Limitations of the methodology and suggestions for further research directions are discussed.