The key message of this book is that heterogeneity should be seen as an intrinsic and indispensable element of knowledge systems. The authors address the concept of heterogeneity in a multi-disciplinary fashion, including perspectives from evolutionary economics and innovation system studies, and relate this approach to existing theories in a broad range of fields.

The development of emerging technologies demands a rapidly expanding knowledge base and intensive collaboration across organizational, institutional and cultural borders. This book is the first of its kind to focus on the management of key emerging technologies and their social and economic impact in Europe. Split into four parts, across seventeen chapters, the scholars offer multiple levels of analysis concerning the management of emerging technologies across various sectors ranging from nanotechnology, renewable energy and cloud computing to synthetic biology and particle therapy for cancer.

This unique and informative book highlights the relationship between crisis, innovation, and sustainable development, and discusses the necessary conditions required to seize the ecological opportunity. The authors study the strength of change for building a new society, and the theoretical origins and political aspects of environmental concerns. They also sketch the outlines of a global governance system seeking to promote sustainable development.