We have been looking at work by Gerry Philipsen on local strategies. One of his works on the subject is Speaking Culturally. Here, Philipsen develops an approach to the local environment that impinges on and shapes speech: “Whenever people speak, they organize their speech in ways not governed only by rules of grammar or by physical laws” (p. 10). That is, there are rules of place. One might see similarities with Harrison White’s Identity and Control, where the social construction of place may shape identity relative to a perceived social discipline.
The importance of local strategies is not generally recognized in technology transfer literature, and especially not in national innovation policy discussions of how inventions should be managed for social and economic benefit. We think that should change. Here, we put out a marker for this work.
Philipsen points out a distinction by Matthew Crawford, the difference between engaging in conversation vs. making an assertion. This distinction may be usefully ported to considering the nature of new technology introduction. Doing so suggests two fundamentally different ways of dealing with innovation. Does a local group adopt differently when importing or creating? Does it matter if a patent license is presented as a demand for diligence rather than a promise to provide at need?
Put this way, assisting can mean “pushing best practices in place of local practices” or can mean “adding more resources to permit the extension of
local practices in directions indicated by local decisions.”
This development then ties back to ideas inherent in open engagement. Studies in neuroeconomics would appear to support the importance of the distinction. See Greg Berns’ work with economic decisions under the influence of “expert advice”. Also, studies suggesting that owners tend to value assets more highly than proxies for owners do. A local strategy with engagement may then lead to a greater social standing for innovation than would an imposition of new technology from the outside, no matter the claim to betterment or “best practices”.
In this development, we might glimpse the serious problems raised by universities aiming to take on “commercialization” as a push force to create companies and enforce patent rights on industry, without regard for local strategies that might create even greater value, both socially and financially.