Introduction

Without a doubt, the twentieth century saw some of the most notable innovations in world history and the laser can certainly be counted among them. The aim of this study is to contribute to an in-depth understanding of collective innovation processes by analyzing R&D cooperation and innovation networks in the German laser industry. Following the neo-Schumpeterian tradition, it employs interdisciplinary analytical concepts and draws upon a unique longitudinal dataset from the laser industry that covers more than two decades of observations. The first chapter provides a general introduction to the subject and is structured as follows: Sect. 1.1 starts with a brief introduction of the laser and its roots in Germany. In Sect. 1.2 we raise awareness of the importance of R&D cooperation and innovation networks in science-driven industries. In Sect. 1.3 the overall research questions underlying this study are presented. And finally, the research design and the plan of the book are outlined in Sect. 1.4. In short, our aim with this study is to contribute to the existing body of literature by exploring how and why firm-specific R&D cooperation activities and network positions, large-scale network patterns, and evolutionary network change processes affect the innovative performance of laser source manufacturers in Germany.