Technological paradigm of convergence technologies: An empirical analysis on the technological trajectories of cultured meat

Patent data recorded in the Orbis Intellectual Property database from 1997 to 2021 will be used. Patent citations are characterized by extensive coverage, which is quite useful for innovation research, and provide evidence of the link between innovation and prior science and technology. Also, given the close relationship between technology convergence and interdisciplinary knowledge, researchers have been using interdisciplinary knowledge as an indicator of technology convergence. As a result, researchers are allowed to analyze the trajectory and dynamics of technological convergence using patent data.

Specifically, the titles, abstracts and contexts of relevant patents will be set to include one of the following terms: cultured meat, cell-based meat, artificial meat, cultivated meat, in vitro meat, lab-grown meat, and synthetic meat. This method allows the analysis of the technological trajectory of cultured meat, as well as the degree of convergence between the different technologies integrated to form cultured meat technology. The specific patent information also allows the generalization of the knowledge and technologies driving the convergence of cultured meat technology.