Innovation and Regulatory Reform in Public Transport : Innovative Capabilities and Learning of the Public Transport Organisations

This thesis studies the effects of regulatory reform on innovative capabilities, mainly technological and organisational innovation and learning, in the public transport organisations. Though there is little research that explicitly examines the relationship between regulatory reform and technological innovation in the public transport sector, we utilise, in this thesis, various theories and studies correlating to the issue as well as empirical evidence (case studies) to support the analyses. In this thesis, the main research question asks: ‘What effect does regulatory reform (in the public transport market) have on innovative capability, and which routes of innovation will prevail?’ The thesis is based on two theoretical perspectives: innovation theory and institutional and organisational studies. This thesis provides a broader perspective on innovation; it focuses on both the technological and organisational aspects of innovative activities. In this thesis, the public transport service is exemplified by the ‘twin characteristics’ approach which defines public transport in terms of three sets of characteristics: technical characteristics, competence, and service characteristics. It then classifies innovation into three subgroups: service innovation, pure technical innovation, and competence development. Within those three groups, the innovative capabilities of the public transport system can be divided into three more categories, namely, innovative capabilities related to 1) infrastructure, 2) vehicle, and 3) service operation. These innovative capabilities can be considered as guidelines for analysing the innovation process in the public transport sector. Furthermore, the thesis defines three levels of innovation to locate where the innovation is positioned in time and space.

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