Research and Development Management in Assemblage: Case Studies of Solar Energy and Cell Detection Technologies

Abstract

Creativity in technological innovation is often considered to stem from the individual genius of scientists and technologists. As a result, creativity is an internal matter enclosed within the human subject. In order to decenter this subject notion, we propose to introduce the concept of assemblage (agencement), developed by Gils Deleuze and recently adopted by scholars in actor network theory and related fields. To illustrate this idea, we describe cases where researchers in a corporate research lab reinterpret the existing technological order from inside and create a local opportunity as opposed to heroically transforming the technological order from outside. Based on the empirical case, we discuss theoretical and practical implications of the concept.