Analyzing Status Quo of Technology Fusion by Using Patents: A Global and Technical Assessment

Technology fusion is seen as an important driver of emerging industries and economic growth, creating opportunities for enterprises and societies around the world. Yet, asymmetric technological development in different countries or industries leads to disparities in technology fusion, so it is always an issue for policy-makers and scholars to identify and discover the frontier areas where technologies intersect. The objective of this article is to analyze the overall picture of global technology fusion and to explore the differences between fusion and nonfusion technologies through patents. This study utilized patents issued from 1976 to 2017 in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database to analyze technology distances through interdisciplinary patent citations for examining a global picture of technology fusion. Both fusion patents and nonfusion patents are characterized by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression based on a total of 20 patent indicators, to differentiate the two types of patents and the likelihood for nonfusion patents to become fusion patents. It is found that most characteristics of fusion patents and nonfusion patents are significantly different. Meanwhile, the novelty of industry knowledge, the richness of knowledge resources, and other conditions increase the likelihood of nonfusion technology becoming fusion technology. Findings of this study provide guidance for potential interdisciplinary innovation through patented technologies.