Mapping the emergence and maturation of sustainable supply chain technologies: a patent-based assessment of technology life cycles

Patent data is perhaps one of the most important ways to analyze technology life cycles, as it contains knowledge related to both technological establishments and business viability with objective metrics. The technology lifecycle has four critical phases: emergence, growth, maturity, and saturation. During the phase of emergence, initial patents are somewhat primitive since technologies have just entered the marketplace in their basic forms. Foundational problems and market uncertainties are ironed out during this phase of growth, which then yields to manufacturers’ adoption of the technology and its integration into R&D activities. At the maturity stage, with stiff competition and rapid commercialization, operations gradually render obsolete cutting-edge technology. Technology assumes a foundational role during this maturation phase, open to replacement by newer innovations. The present research covers an analysis of 5,461 patents related to the “Sustainable Supply Chain” through the latent Dirichlet allocation technique, uncovering six different types of technologies with varying lines of time of maturity. One of these technology areas is digital vehicle control, which achieves maturity and paves industries like automotive, aviation, and transportation; it optimizes the flow of sustainable goods with a focus on social and environmental responsibility. While the waste treatment and catalysis sphere are approaching saturation, cost efficiency and eco-conscious material use are in the foreground for sustainable supply chain management. On the other hand, pesticide and pest management are at a presentation phase where extensive R&D verdicts for innovative and eco-friendly product development are going on. This research underlines the role that understanding technology life cycles plays in effective technology portfolio management for market competitiveness. A corporation can, using patent data, assess technology life cycles to identify the best time to invest in R&D versus the time to commercialize technologies. A responsible integration of technology becomes a critical pursuit with looming sustainability goals ahead. This study intends to provide very useful insights into the evolution of sustainable technologies and the complex framework of technology life cycles, in a bid to enable decision-making under highly dynamic circumstances.