Path Dependency and Path Creation: Continuity vs. Fundamental Change in National Economies

The current debate on technological development and socio-economic change is characterized by an obvious contradiction. Some scholars argue that the economy in industrialized countries is undergoing a fundamental and very rapid transformation towards a knowledge-based economy, sometimes also referred to as the third industrial revolution (Castells, 2000). To explain the rapid and fundamental transformation process, scholars often refer to the dictating influence of certain mega-trends (e.g. Naisbitt, 1982). These include the globalizing markets, the pervasive informatization of the economy and the widespread diffusion of modern ICT, cultural changes and new demand patterns, or the scientific-technological revolution, to mention just a few. These trends are assumed to be so powerful that they can enforce a systemic transformation process in all advanced