Fast-tracking development of military high technology A study of the Norwegian Triaxial Model Simen Pedersen Master’s thesis in “Technology, innovation and knowledge” 60 credits at TIK Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture Faculty of Social Sciences October 2019 Abstract Norwegian authorities want to make sure the Norwegian Armed Forces get access to the best possible technological solutions catering to their operational requirements, maintain and advance Norwegian industrial capabilities in important technological areas, and keep Norwegian defence industry internationally competitive. To support these ambitions, they have developed the Norwegian Triaxial Model, a framework for innovation cooperation between the Armed Forces, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and industry actors. This study researches how the Norwegian Triaxial Model performs in practice, when new defence systems are developed based on available high technology. The theoretical framework belongs to the technological innovation systems approach, where central processes, or functions, within the system are analysed in order to understand exactly what goes on within the system and how well each function is currently fulfilling its role in supporting innovative activity. The method applied is qualitative case study, using interviews as the primary tool for data collection, and the research questions are: • How do the actors “play their part”; what are the different actors’ roles and contributions to innovation in this version of the Norwegian Triaxial Model? • Which drivers positively contribute to innovation and which barriers hamper progress for innovation in this version of the Norwegian Triaxial Model? • What can be done to improve this version of the Norwegian Triaxial Model? The theoretical and empirical findings in this study contribute to a better understanding of actors, roles and processes in the current version of the Norwegian Triaxial Model, and its contribution to innovation in the military domain. The conclusion also presents central drivers that promote innovation in the system, central barriers that can hamper innovation, and suggest some measures that could possibly be beneficial for improved performance of the Norwegian Triaxial Model in the future. 1 Acknowledgements While many hours have been spent alone stooped over the keyboard, writing this master’s thesis was not entirely a solo project. There are a few I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to. My supervisor Arne Martin Fevolden (NIFU) has been of great assistance. With deep knowledge of innovation studies and of the defence sector, his constructive critique has guided me through my entire process, from the very beginning to the very end. Thank you, Arne. The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) has helped facilitate my research trough providing me with an office space and direct access to both research reports and the researchers who wrote them, for which I am very grateful. A special thanks to Hanne Bjørk, head of the Innovation and Industrial Development division at FFI, who made this possible. I promised confidentiality to all my informants, which means that I cannot publicly thank them for their contributions. They nevertheless deserve credit for their contributions to this study. Without the rich empirical data from all those interviews, my project would have been much less interesting, and the result much less worth. Thank you all. And last but not least, I owe thanks to my wife, Beate. Your support was tremendously valuable! Simen Pedersen October 2019 2 Table of contents 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 6 1.1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................................ 8 1.2. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS .......................................................................................................................... 9 2. THEORY ............................................................................................................................................... 10 2.1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 10 2.2. THE SYSTEMIC NATURE OF INNOVATION - TIS IN A WIDER CONTEXT ................................................................... 10 2.3. DIFFERENT SYSTEMIC PERSPECTIVES ON INNOVATION ...................................................................................... 11 2.4. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS ...................................................................................................... 14 2.5. SUITABILITY AND APPLICATION OF THE TIS FUNCTIONS FRAMEWORK .................................................................. 16 2.6. STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS ....................................................................................................................... 16 2.6.1. Actors ............................................................................................................................................. 17 2.6.2. Networks ....................................................................................................................................... 19 2.6.3. Institutions ..................................................................................................................................... 20 2.7. PROCESSES IN THE TIS: FUNCTIONS ............................................................................................................. 21 2.7.1. Knowledge development and diffusion ......................................................................................... 22 2.7.2. Influence on the direction of search .............................................................................................. 23 2.7.3. Entrepreneurial experimentation .................................................................................................. 23 2.7.4. Market formation .......................................................................................................................... 24 2.7.5. Legitimation ................................................................................................................................... 25 2.7.6. Resource mobilisation .................................................................................................................... 26 2.7.7. Development of positive externalities ........................................................................................... 27 2.8. THE NORWEGIAN TRIAXIAL MODEL ACTORS AND FUNCTIONS MATRIX – IN THEORY .............................................. 29 3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................... 30 3.1. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................ 30 3.2. CASE STUDIES ......................................................................................................................................... 30 3.3. ACCESS TO CASES .................................................................................................................................... 32 3.4. DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................................................... 32 3.4.1. Document studies .......................................................................................................................... 33 3.4.2. Interviews ...................................................................................................................................... 33 3.5. ANALYSING DATA .................................................................................................................................... 34 3.6. METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS: LEGITIMACY AND CREDIBILITY .................................................................. 35 3.6.1. Validity and reliability .................................................................................................................... 35 3.6.2. Selection of informants .................................................................................................................. 37 3 3.6.3. Ethical considerations .................................................................................................................... 38 4. THE NORWEGIAN TRIAXIAL MODEL FOR MILITARY HIGH-TECH INNOVATION ...................................... 40 4.1. FIELDMADE ........................................................................................................................................... 40 4.2. BLACK HORNET ....................................................................................................................................... 41 4.3. DEFINING THE TIS IN FOCUS ...................................................................................................................... 42 4.4. STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF THE NORWEGIAN TRIAXIAL MODEL ................................................................... 43 4.4.1. Actors ............................................................................................................................................. 43 4.4.2. Networks ......................................................................................................................................