The ultimate ambition, according to Professor Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey, is to produce a type of universal memory "that you can take from one computing device to another".

BBC: ReRAM competes to be tech's next memory chip standard

Nobody, in her view, personifies the supremely self-confident, narcissistic type better than Jean-Marie Messier, the former head of Vivendi Universal, who steered the one-time media giant close to bankruptcy in 2002.

ECONOMIST: France

Each requires a different type of innovation effort and I find it uncomfortable to try and fit a universal set of principles across the entire spectrum of innovation.

FORBES: Test Your Innovation IQ

Simcoe, an assistant professor at Boston University, adds that such policies might also resolve a type of coordination problem often seen in the diffusion of technology standards, such as the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface or a new video game console.

FORBES: How Governments Spur Private-Sector Demand for Green Buildings