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To answer the questions: what roles windows of opportunity act in the catchup process of latecomers, what strategies latecomer enterprises should adopt to size windows of opportunity to catch-up with incumbents even going beyond?

This paper studies the catch-up history of the Chinese mobile phone industry and proposes a sectoral innovation system under scenario of technology paradigm shifts. Then a history-friendly simulation model and counterfactual analysis are conducted to learn how different windows of opportunity and catch-up strategies influence the catch-up performance of latecomers.

Results show latecomers can catch up with technology ability by utilizing technology window and path-creating strategy. However, catching up with the market is not guaranteed. Demand window can help latecomers to catch up with market as it increases their survival rates, different sized windows benefit different strategies. However, it also enlarges incumbents' scale effect. Without technology window technology catch up is not guaranteed. Two windows have combination effects. Demand window affects the “degree” of change in survival rates, while the technology window affects the “speed” of change. Demand window provides security; technology window provides the possibility of a breakthrough for technology ability.

The findings of this paper provide theoretical guidance for latecomer enterprises to choose appropriate catch-up strategies to seize different opportunity windows.

This paper emphasizes the abrupt change of industrial innovation system caused by technology paradigm shifts, which makes up for the shortcomings of previous researches on industrial innovation system which either studied the influence of static factors or based on the influence of continuous changes.

Revolutionary advances in aircraft technology and performance are needed for fuel-efficient and sustainable next-generation air transportation. This study aims to explore the influence of integrating distributed propulsion with ultra-high aspect ratio (AR) wings (UHARW) on the realization of fully electric regional aviation.

The strut-braced wing (SBW) configuration is advantageous for UHARW due to its additional support. A conceptual design and analysis framework for UHARW aircraft with SBW and distributed propulsion configurations is developed by enhancing and integrating several methods and tools. Based on the mission profile and top-level requirements, a fully electric regional SBW aircraft with distributed propulsion is designed and analyzed.

Integrating distributed propulsion with a high AR SBW configuration in a fully electric regional aircraft results in notable energy efficiencies. The design achieves a 2.85% increase in the lift-to-drag ratio and a 2.62% reduction in drag during cruise. Sensitivity analysis indicates optimal performance with an AR up to 22, beyond which structural weight penalties diminish benefits. The aircraft’s energy efficiency improves by 9.9% during climb and 6% during cruise, highlighting the importance of propulsion integration.

This research provides a viable framework for designing fully electric regional aircraft by integrating distributed propulsion with high AR SBW configurations. The findings provide practical guidance for enhancing energy efficiency and reducing structural weight, supporting the development of more sustainable and efficient aircraft designs.

The findings support the development of sustainable aviation technologies, potentially reducing the environmental footprint of regional air travel and contributing to global efforts toward greener transportation solutions.

This study presents a comprehensive methodology for designing and analyzing UHARW aircraft with SBW and distributed propulsion, contributing to the feasibility assessment of fully electric regional aviation.