Detecting emerging technological trends by patent text mining for the automotive industry.

In a VUCA world, firms are forced to become more dynamic. Quickly responding to new innovations is required to maintain a firm’s competitive advantage. By being able to detect emerging patterns, firms can more effectively manage their R&D portfolio. This research addresses the problem of improving firms’ ability to detect emerging technological trends, thereby improving their competitiveness and innovative capabilities. The findings contribute to the understanding of R&D portfolio management by detecting persistent, emerging, and fading patterns in the automotive industry. These patterns are identified by using patent text mining on the R&D portfolios of the top-5 firms over time. The study is relevant, since it assists firms in navigating through the dynamic and quickly evolving environment of the automotive industry by providing guidelines for firms’ R&D strategies.