How does science convergence influence technology convergence? Different impacts of science-push and technology-pull

Abstract

Given the role of convergence in driving scientific and technological advances, understanding its early-stage evolution is crucial to revealing how scientific knowledge recombination influences technological development. This paper explores the initial transformation from science convergence (SC) to technology convergence (TC) by distinguishing two pathways: science-push (SP), where scientists “push” well-established interdisciplinary research into technological practice, and technology-pull (TP), where practitioners “pull” and recombine scientific knowledge from different scientific disciplines. Using granted patents and their scientific references in the pharmaceutical field, we measure each patent's science and technology convergence characteristics across three dimensions: variety, balance, and disparity. Empirical results confirm that diverse scientific knowledge recombination contributes to the emergence of convergent technologies through both pathways. Lower balance and higher disparity are key to the successful transfer from SC to TC. Among the two pathways, technology-pull proves to be more effective and robust, especially in triggering high-impact convergent technologies. Science convergent variety supports technology-pull transfers but hinders science-push transfers, as science convergence in the TP pathway serves more directly to address specific technological problems, whereas in the SP pathway, it may be incompatible with technological development. This study extends convergence process theory by introducing dual pathways from SC to TC.