Diffusion of Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Development: Prospective Assessment for Public Policies

• Published in: Journal of technology management & innovation Vol. 8; no. suppl 1; pp. 41 - 42
• Main Authors: Ludovico de Almeida, Maria Fatima, Caldas de Moraes, Carlos Augusto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Santiago Universidad Alberto Hurtado; JOTMI 2013; Universidad Alberto Hurtado. Facultad de Economía y Negocios; Universidad Alberto Hurtado
• Subjects: Business models; emerging technologies; ENGINEERING, MULTIDISCIPLINARY; prospective studies; public policies; sustainable development; technology foresight; sustainable development; emerging technologies; technology foresight; prospective studies; public policies
• ISSN: 0718-2724; 0718-2724
• DOI: 10.4067/S0718-27242013000300021

Emerging technologies based on biotechnology, nanotechnology, information and communication technologies (ICT), and green chemistry will shape the future of some industries and will transform many others. In many cases, these technologies will determine the development and restructuring of industries as never before. These changes, in turn, will promote debates and revisions of current regulatory frameworks and corporate business models. This paper - which is based on a prospective study carried out by the authors in 2010 - emphasizes the importance of understanding and anticipating movements of driving forces, trends and critical uncertainties at global level, which will influence the diffusion of emerging technologies into industrial processes and business models concerning seven societal sectors. The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolutionary trajectories of these sectors, based on diffusion of the so-called emergent technologies in a time horizon of 20 years.