Industrial policy initiatives in manufacturing: Examining cross-country interventions through an evolutionary typology of technology systems

Abstract Modern manufacturing entails disparate technologies that function as whole ‘technology systems’ to produce specified outcomes. These technologies have unique technical attributes, requiring distinctly different policy responses. Despite this, there are concerns that industrial policy initiatives in advanced economies are deficient in their consideration of technology systems. To scrutinize these issues, an evolutionary typology of the technologies constituting technology systems is elucidated and applied across three initiatives—Germany’s Industrie 4.0, the US’ Smart Manufacturing, and the UK’s High-Value Manufacturing. The findings suggest that Industrie 4.0 is more comprehensive in its treatment of technology systems. This is due to the influence of a systems-level policy vision that guides the targeting of specific technologies. This vision is executed through a range of policy instruments and institutions, each fulfilling unique complementary and cumulative roles. The paper offers new insights into the significance of policy vision and its systematic implementation.