Convergence innovation in railway technology: how ERL of Malaysia attained its co-evolution structure for systemic development

Abstract

By examining the co-evolution structure between two processes – accumulation and assimilation – of Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd's (ERL) system over the past decade, this paper explores the transformation of ERL of Malaysia; from a mere user of Siemens's technology, to Siemens's technology partner capable of attaining state-of-the-art operating systems for a high-speed rail (HSR) technological system. Both accumulation and assimilation processes of ERL are examined in detail to elucidate the dynamic process of the ‘multilateral model’ of a HSR system. The approaches have led ERL to witness convergence innovation between Siemens's technology and ERL's knowledge in operating systems. The convergence innovation between the two processes has enabled ERL to venture into engineering consulting services, exporting innovative operating solutions to other firms abroad. The strategic approaches discussed in this paper may thus provide policy lessons for other firms in developing countries aspiring to emulate the upgrading process of rail technology.

Keywords:

• assimilation
• accumulation
• convergence
• rail
• Malaysia

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the 2014 Asialics conference travel fellowship support. Thanks are extended to Prof. Kong-Rae Lee and Prof. Fumio Kodama for their insights on technology convergence.

Funding

The authors are grateful for the research support [FL025-2012] of the Equitable Society Research Cluster of University Malaya.

Notes

1 Probably, the most aggressive adaptor of rail technology in Asia is China, as demonstrated by the committed improvement of its railway network since the turn of the twenty-first century (Luger, 2008). In Europe, Germany and Great Britain have restructured their railway industries to allow non-state-owned operators to govern their rail networks (Link, 2009; Shaw, 2000). This points to a paradigm shift where the railway is no longer viewed as a public service, but instead has developed as a private enterprise. Cheng (2010) studied the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) in the development of interregional areas in Taiwan, providing easier access to new labour markets and leading to the establishment of new economic corridors.

2 SCADA stands for supervisory control and data acquisition. Using telecommunication networks to relay and acquire data regarding the trains, the use of SCADA has expanded the core technology of communication.

3 An axle counter is a device used to detect train presence on particular sections of a track. It operates by counting the number of train axles that enter and depart a particular track section. The information is passed to the operation control centre to notify when a track is occupied or vacant.