ABSTRACT
To provide empirical proof for our arguments the medical device industry that traditionally has been characterized by a high degree of user-innovation444 will be closely scrutinized.
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
For our purposes “medical devices are all types of products used specifi - cally for medical purposes, with the important exclusion of pharmaceutical products” (Lotz 1992; p. 17). The medical device industry is characterized by a high degree of innovativeness. German medical device corporations for example earn over half of their revenues from products that are less than two years old.445 The realm is also highly interdisciplinary with the areas of microsystems-technology, mechatronics, information-and communications technology, electronics, optical technologies, material sciences, nanotechnology and cell-and biotechnologies all playing important roles.446 Especially the latter two, and the resulting convergence between the above disciplines, are likely to increasingly shape the industry’s future.
