Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Energy Research & Social Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/erss Original research article Embedded research in energy innovation: An examination of cases and theories of knowledge creation for power generation and lighting technologies David Foord a, ⁎ , John D. McLaughlin b a Emera and NB Power Research Centre for Smart Grid Technologies, Technology Management and Entrepreneurship Centre, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3, Canada b Professor and President Emeritus, Scholar in Residence, TME Centre for Advanced Study, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A, Canada ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Embedded research Knowledge creation Niches Locations of use ABSTRACT This article examines the association of location and actors in the invention, development and innovation of power generation and lighting technologies. It is known that niche actors play important roles in knowledge creation and energy innovation. What is not well understood is the association and influence of location for sustainability transition knowledge creation. To understand the association of location and knowledge creation we use a theoretically novel framework which integrates concepts of niches, mode 2 knowledge production, embedded research and socio-spatial embedding. We applied the new framework and comparative case study methods to answer our research question of what locations and actors are associated with knowledge creation. We found that knowledge creation in the cases is positively associated with locations-of-use and the involvement of niche actors. The spacial and temporary variation of our cases limits the generalizability of our framework. Future research directions include examination of other historical and contemporary case studies, and identi- fication of effective practices in embedding energy knowledge creation projects in locations-of-use. 1. Introduction The objective of our research is to understand how location is as- sociated with invention, development and innovation in power gen- eration and lighting technologies. Common to theories of technological change in management and socio-technical transition literatures are concepts of technology innovation within niches or contexts-of-appli- cation to exploit networks of actors, including customers, regulators, operators, users, suppliers, financiers, and others. In our study we ex- plore two dimensions of niches: actors and locations of new knowledge creation. Within these actor dimensions we distinguish between net- works including mostly researchers, and those that include researchers as well as other niche actors. Of knowledge creation locations, we distinguish between laboratories and locations-of-use. “Locations-of- use” mean physical locations, outside of laboratories, in which new knowledge is created, including for instance, cotton mills, foundries and cities. One of the motivations for this project is research that has char- acterized energy technological innovation in terms of its simplicity or complexity of product architecture and its low or high scale of production [1]. One line of research has found that the greater the complexity of product architecture and the lower the scale of produc- tion - the greater the importance of geographical proximity of users for innovators. The electrical grid is an example of a system with high complexity of product architecture and low scale of production, versus solar PV which has a relative simple product architecture and high scale of production [2]. With technical systems like power grids, this research has found that locational proximity is important for collaborative in- vention and development among industry consortia, private-public partnerships, including data collection and understanding of evolving standards in operational settings. In this study we have extended this research by examining whether there is a positive association between locations-of-use and successful knowledge creation activities. Like Coenen, Benneworth, and Truffer, we sought an improved under- standing of why knowledge creation happens in particular places and not in others [3]. We also want to help policy makers to understand the contextual conditions that underlie successful knowledge creation in one place, and thus provide insights as to whether and how they might be translated to other places. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.05.021 Received 2 November 2018; Received in revised form 24 May 2019; Accepted 29 May 2019 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: david.foord@unb.ca (D. Foord). Energy Research & Social Science 56 (2019) 101211 2214-6296/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T