David M. Hart
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199251902
- eISBN:
- 9780191719059
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199251902.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
This chapter argues that the state, broadly construed, helps to construct corporate technological capabilities. Thus, the business-state interaction in the process of technological innovation must be ...
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This chapter argues that the state, broadly construed, helps to construct corporate technological capabilities. Thus, the business-state interaction in the process of technological innovation must be a focus of business history research. Key concepts from social science research on national innovation systems are introduced and it is shown how they mesh with central tenets of recent work in business history. The chapter then advances four ways of thinking about the state — as organization, fisc, system of rules, and normative order — that lead toward potentially fruitful areas for historical research. This research agenda may lead the field toward an ‘interorganizational synthesis’ that builds on and enriches the best of contemporary business history.Less
This chapter argues that the state, broadly construed, helps to construct corporate technological capabilities. Thus, the business-state interaction in the process of technological innovation must be a focus of business history research. Key concepts from social science research on national innovation systems are introduced and it is shown how they mesh with central tenets of recent work in business history. The chapter then advances four ways of thinking about the state — as organization, fisc, system of rules, and normative order — that lead toward potentially fruitful areas for historical research. This research agenda may lead the field toward an ‘interorganizational synthesis’ that builds on and enriches the best of contemporary business history.
Paul L. Robertson and Gianmario Verona
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199290475
- eISBN:
- 9780191603495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199290474.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
This chapter explores the reciprocal relationship between technological innovation and the boundaries of the firm, and the paths in which firm boundaries might be expected to follow under different ...
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This chapter explores the reciprocal relationship between technological innovation and the boundaries of the firm, and the paths in which firm boundaries might be expected to follow under different circumstances. It argues that while one might follow Langlois (2003) in believing that there will be a tendency for large, vertically-integrated firms to become less common in the technological environment that is currently unfolding, other tendencies will also be afoot, leading to a spectrum of different types of inter- and intra-firm relationships. This includes the creation of new giant enterprises whose evolution in the early 20th century was described by Chandler (1962, 1977) as the imposition of a ‘visible hand’ to reduce uncertainties in market-based relationships.Less
This chapter explores the reciprocal relationship between technological innovation and the boundaries of the firm, and the paths in which firm boundaries might be expected to follow under different circumstances. It argues that while one might follow Langlois (2003) in believing that there will be a tendency for large, vertically-integrated firms to become less common in the technological environment that is currently unfolding, other tendencies will also be afoot, leading to a spectrum of different types of inter- and intra-firm relationships. This includes the creation of new giant enterprises whose evolution in the early 20th century was described by Chandler (1962, 1977) as the imposition of a ‘visible hand’ to reduce uncertainties in market-based relationships.
Nathan Rosenberg
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269426
- eISBN:
- 9780191710179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269426.003.0010
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter compares capitalist and socialist economies from the perspective of the freedom to experiment as the hallmark of technological change. It argues that freedom to conduct experiments is ...
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This chapter compares capitalist and socialist economies from the perspective of the freedom to experiment as the hallmark of technological change. It argues that freedom to conduct experiments is essential to all societies committed to technological innovation or improved productive efficiency. Historically, capitalism has provided multiple sources of decision making and initiative, incentives for processing one step at a time, and the possibility for drawing upon a wide range of human potential. The result has been an extraordinary pattern of organizational diversity. Any serious effort to make socialist societies more amenable to technological change has only proved possible to the extent that such societies have been made more capitalistic.Less
This chapter compares capitalist and socialist economies from the perspective of the freedom to experiment as the hallmark of technological change. It argues that freedom to conduct experiments is essential to all societies committed to technological innovation or improved productive efficiency. Historically, capitalism has provided multiple sources of decision making and initiative, incentives for processing one step at a time, and the possibility for drawing upon a wide range of human potential. The result has been an extraordinary pattern of organizational diversity. Any serious effort to make socialist societies more amenable to technological change has only proved possible to the extent that such societies have been made more capitalistic.
Sheilagh Ogilvie
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691137544
- eISBN:
- 9780691185101
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691137544.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This chapter addresses how guilds dealt with technological innovation. Innovation is a final sphere in which market failures are widespread in premodern economies, as in modern ones. On the one hand, ...
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This chapter addresses how guilds dealt with technological innovation. Innovation is a final sphere in which market failures are widespread in premodern economies, as in modern ones. On the one hand, contemporaries frequently complained that guilds blocked new techniques and practices. On the other hand, guilds were in a position to generate cartel rents, and this might have encouraged their members to incur the costs of invention. Guilds might also have encouraged diffusion of technological knowledge through compulsory apprenticeship, mandatory travelling by journeymen, or the spatial clustering of practitioners. Guilds could also affect innovation unintentionally by things they did for other reasons. Guilds thus provide a rich context for investigating the role of different institutional mechanisms in encouraging the invention and diffusion of innovations.Less
This chapter addresses how guilds dealt with technological innovation. Innovation is a final sphere in which market failures are widespread in premodern economies, as in modern ones. On the one hand, contemporaries frequently complained that guilds blocked new techniques and practices. On the other hand, guilds were in a position to generate cartel rents, and this might have encouraged their members to incur the costs of invention. Guilds might also have encouraged diffusion of technological knowledge through compulsory apprenticeship, mandatory travelling by journeymen, or the spatial clustering of practitioners. Guilds could also affect innovation unintentionally by things they did for other reasons. Guilds thus provide a rich context for investigating the role of different institutional mechanisms in encouraging the invention and diffusion of innovations.
David J. Teece
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296041
- eISBN:
- 9780191596070
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296045.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
The wider issue of linkage between organizational variables and the application of new technology is addressed, focusing in particular on innovation at the level of the firm and on the choice of ...
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The wider issue of linkage between organizational variables and the application of new technology is addressed, focusing in particular on innovation at the level of the firm and on the choice of organizational variables that go best with different types of innovation. In the process, there is a comprehensive analysis of the underlying properties of technological innovation per se, and a set of archetypal governance modes for firms. The thrust of the argument is the need to take a broader view of innovation, not only by looking at market structure but also by relating it to organizational structure and firm boundaries as well. Both the formal and the informal structures of the firm, and the network of external linkages that they have, substantially influence innovative activity in firms. The chapter goes on to suggest that the complex and increasingly common inter‐firm arrangements that exploit complementarities and are often linked to the development of technology in fact constitute an organizational innovation of great importance.Less
The wider issue of linkage between organizational variables and the application of new technology is addressed, focusing in particular on innovation at the level of the firm and on the choice of organizational variables that go best with different types of innovation. In the process, there is a comprehensive analysis of the underlying properties of technological innovation per se, and a set of archetypal governance modes for firms. The thrust of the argument is the need to take a broader view of innovation, not only by looking at market structure but also by relating it to organizational structure and firm boundaries as well. Both the formal and the informal structures of the firm, and the network of external linkages that they have, substantially influence innovative activity in firms. The chapter goes on to suggest that the complex and increasingly common inter‐firm arrangements that exploit complementarities and are often linked to the development of technology in fact constitute an organizational innovation of great importance.
Robin Cowan, Paul A. David, and Dominique Foray
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269426
- eISBN:
- 9780191710179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269426.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter attempts to provide greater precision and clarity toward the understanding of the nature and economic significance of knowledge and its variegated forms by presenting the sceptical ...
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This chapter attempts to provide greater precision and clarity toward the understanding of the nature and economic significance of knowledge and its variegated forms by presenting the sceptical economist's guide to ‘tacit knowledge’. It critically reconsiders the way in which the concepts of tacitness and codification have come to be employed by economists, and develops a more coherent reconceptualization of these aspects of knowledge production and distribution activities. The chapter also shows that a proposed alternative framework for the study of knowledge codification activities offers a more useful guide for further research directed to informing public policies for science, technological innovation, and long-run economic growth.Less
This chapter attempts to provide greater precision and clarity toward the understanding of the nature and economic significance of knowledge and its variegated forms by presenting the sceptical economist's guide to ‘tacit knowledge’. It critically reconsiders the way in which the concepts of tacitness and codification have come to be employed by economists, and develops a more coherent reconceptualization of these aspects of knowledge production and distribution activities. The chapter also shows that a proposed alternative framework for the study of knowledge codification activities offers a more useful guide for further research directed to informing public policies for science, technological innovation, and long-run economic growth.
Richard S. Rosenbloom and Clayton M. Christensen
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198290964
- eISBN:
- 9780191596162
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198290969.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
Innovations based on radically new technologies are believed to create advantages for entrants over incumbents in the relevant markets. This essay asks under what circumstances this is true, and to ...
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Innovations based on radically new technologies are believed to create advantages for entrants over incumbents in the relevant markets. This essay asks under what circumstances this is true, and to what extent do the disadvantages of incumbent firms stem from their failure to make timely commitments to new capabilities and new strategies as opposed to their inability to implement those commitments effectively. These questions are explored in relation to recent literature in economics and organization theory, and the concept of the ‘value network’ is introduced. Historical evidence suggests that entrants find greatest advantage when innovations disrupt established trajectories of technological progress, a circumstance that is associated with moves to new value networks. The incumbent's disadvantage, hence, seems to be associated with an inability to change strategies rather than technologies.Less
Innovations based on radically new technologies are believed to create advantages for entrants over incumbents in the relevant markets. This essay asks under what circumstances this is true, and to what extent do the disadvantages of incumbent firms stem from their failure to make timely commitments to new capabilities and new strategies as opposed to their inability to implement those commitments effectively. These questions are explored in relation to recent literature in economics and organization theory, and the concept of the ‘value network’ is introduced. Historical evidence suggests that entrants find greatest advantage when innovations disrupt established trajectories of technological progress, a circumstance that is associated with moves to new value networks. The incumbent's disadvantage, hence, seems to be associated with an inability to change strategies rather than technologies.
Maureen D. McKelvey
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198297246
- eISBN:
- 9780191685316
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198297246.003.0002
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Knowledge Management
This chapter analyses parallel historical technological innovation processes in order to develop more general theories and comments about technological change in modern market economies. A ...
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This chapter analyses parallel historical technological innovation processes in order to develop more general theories and comments about technological change in modern market economies. A technological innovation process means the process whereby agents act to transform new knowledge, inventions, and/or scientific techniques into economic value, often through products, production processes, and/or changes to the organization. The focus here therefore is not on why a product is successful in a market or why a technology functions but is instead on the scientific, technological, and other knowledge-seeking activities enabling technical change. It is argued that innovation processes are constituted by many knowledge-seeking activities, whereby agents' perceptions and actions are translated into practice. Evolution as defined here draws on an explicit comparison of evolutionary theories for biology and socio-economic phenomena. The perspective of evolutionary innovation has close ties to evolutionary economics but also to other social sciences.Less
This chapter analyses parallel historical technological innovation processes in order to develop more general theories and comments about technological change in modern market economies. A technological innovation process means the process whereby agents act to transform new knowledge, inventions, and/or scientific techniques into economic value, often through products, production processes, and/or changes to the organization. The focus here therefore is not on why a product is successful in a market or why a technology functions but is instead on the scientific, technological, and other knowledge-seeking activities enabling technical change. It is argued that innovation processes are constituted by many knowledge-seeking activities, whereby agents' perceptions and actions are translated into practice. Evolution as defined here draws on an explicit comparison of evolutionary theories for biology and socio-economic phenomena. The perspective of evolutionary innovation has close ties to evolutionary economics but also to other social sciences.
Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198288787
- eISBN:
- 9780191684630
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198288787.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Organization Studies
First published in 1961, this book is a very influential book on organization theory and industrial sociology. The central theme of the book is the relationship between an organization and its ...
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First published in 1961, this book is a very influential book on organization theory and industrial sociology. The central theme of the book is the relationship between an organization and its environment — particularly technological and market innovations. Based on first-class scholarship, the book presents the now famous and ubiquitous classifications of ‘mechanistic’ and ‘organic’ systems. For this it has become justly famous, but the book is also a penetrating study of social systems within organizations and organizational dynamics.Less
First published in 1961, this book is a very influential book on organization theory and industrial sociology. The central theme of the book is the relationship between an organization and its environment — particularly technological and market innovations. Based on first-class scholarship, the book presents the now famous and ubiquitous classifications of ‘mechanistic’ and ‘organic’ systems. For this it has become justly famous, but the book is also a penetrating study of social systems within organizations and organizational dynamics.
David J. Teece
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295426
- eISBN:
- 9780191596964
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295421.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This chapter discusses the importance of market structure and organizational factors on innovation. In particular, it suggests that the formal and informal structures of the firm, as well as the ...
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This chapter discusses the importance of market structure and organizational factors on innovation. In particular, it suggests that the formal and informal structures of the firm, as well as the network of external linkages they possess, have implications on the kind and strength of innovation firms engage in. It presents frameworks for analysing technological change and innovation in building a coherent framework for analysing the factors that influence innovation. These include organizational competences, organizational structure and incentives, internal organizational culture, and external linkages.Less
This chapter discusses the importance of market structure and organizational factors on innovation. In particular, it suggests that the formal and informal structures of the firm, as well as the network of external linkages they possess, have implications on the kind and strength of innovation firms engage in. It presents frameworks for analysing technological change and innovation in building a coherent framework for analysing the factors that influence innovation. These include organizational competences, organizational structure and incentives, internal organizational culture, and external linkages.
Maureen D. McKelvey
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198297246
- eISBN:
- 9780191685316
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198297246.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Knowledge Management
This chapter analyses similarities and differences between science and technology. In popular discussions, these are often seen as two separate bodies of human knowledge, where science corresponds to ...
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This chapter analyses similarities and differences between science and technology. In popular discussions, these are often seen as two separate bodies of human knowledge, where science corresponds to basic science and technology to machines and such. Technological innovation processes can thus be seen as the result of interactions between different agents' knowledge-seeking activities, particularly scientific and technological activities carried out in different environments. This chapter discusses four environments which promote activities which seek new knowledge, and these are defined by institutional sources of influence and by purpose of activity. By defining the four environments separately and arguing that agents can only respond to one environment at a time with a knowledge-seeking activity, we give ourselves tools and concepts to identify and analyse whether and how agents direct knowledge-seeking activities in response to environmental conditions.Less
This chapter analyses similarities and differences between science and technology. In popular discussions, these are often seen as two separate bodies of human knowledge, where science corresponds to basic science and technology to machines and such. Technological innovation processes can thus be seen as the result of interactions between different agents' knowledge-seeking activities, particularly scientific and technological activities carried out in different environments. This chapter discusses four environments which promote activities which seek new knowledge, and these are defined by institutional sources of influence and by purpose of activity. By defining the four environments separately and arguing that agents can only respond to one environment at a time with a knowledge-seeking activity, we give ourselves tools and concepts to identify and analyse whether and how agents direct knowledge-seeking activities in response to environmental conditions.
David J. Teece
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295426
- eISBN:
- 9780191596964
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295421.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This chapter identifies organizational forms (governance structures) and discusses organizational archetypes (such as integrated hierarchies and multiproduct organization, hollow corporations, and ...
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This chapter identifies organizational forms (governance structures) and discusses organizational archetypes (such as integrated hierarchies and multiproduct organization, hollow corporations, and conglomerates) that have implications for technological innovation. Profiting from the innovation of a new technology involves considerable challenges and depends on such factors as firm boundaries, degree of vertical integration, the structure of financial markets, and the formal and informal organizational structure; and the different organizational archetype faces, different challenges and different types of capabilities, innovation, and preferred organizational forms.Less
This chapter identifies organizational forms (governance structures) and discusses organizational archetypes (such as integrated hierarchies and multiproduct organization, hollow corporations, and conglomerates) that have implications for technological innovation. Profiting from the innovation of a new technology involves considerable challenges and depends on such factors as firm boundaries, degree of vertical integration, the structure of financial markets, and the formal and informal organizational structure; and the different organizational archetype faces, different challenges and different types of capabilities, innovation, and preferred organizational forms.
Steven Brint
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691182667
- eISBN:
- 9780691184890
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691182667.001.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Higher Education
Today's headlines suggest that universities' power to advance knowledge and shape American society is rapidly declining. But this book's author has tracked numerous trends demonstrating their ...
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Today's headlines suggest that universities' power to advance knowledge and shape American society is rapidly declining. But this book's author has tracked numerous trends demonstrating their vitality. After a recent period that witnessed soaring student enrollment and ample research funding, the book argues that universities are in a better position than ever before. Focusing on the years 1980–2015, it details the trajectory of American universities, which was influenced by evolving standards of disciplinary professionalism, market-driven partnerships (especially with scientific and technological innovators outside the academy), and the goal of social inclusion. Conflicts arose: academic entrepreneurs, for example, flouted their campus responsibilities, and departments faced backlash over the hiring of scholars with nontraditional research agendas. Nevertheless, educators' commitments to technological innovation and social diversity prevailed and created a new dynamism. The book documents these successes along with the challenges that result from rapid change. Today, knowledge-driven industries generate almost half of US GDP, but divisions by educational level split the American political order. Students flock increasingly to fields connected to the power centers of American life and steer away from the liberal arts. And opportunities for economic mobility are expanding even as academic expectations decline. In describing how universities can meet such challenges head on, especially in improving classroom learning, the book offers not only a clear-eyed perspective on the current state of American higher education but also a pragmatically optimistic vision for the future.Less
Today's headlines suggest that universities' power to advance knowledge and shape American society is rapidly declining. But this book's author has tracked numerous trends demonstrating their vitality. After a recent period that witnessed soaring student enrollment and ample research funding, the book argues that universities are in a better position than ever before. Focusing on the years 1980–2015, it details the trajectory of American universities, which was influenced by evolving standards of disciplinary professionalism, market-driven partnerships (especially with scientific and technological innovators outside the academy), and the goal of social inclusion. Conflicts arose: academic entrepreneurs, for example, flouted their campus responsibilities, and departments faced backlash over the hiring of scholars with nontraditional research agendas. Nevertheless, educators' commitments to technological innovation and social diversity prevailed and created a new dynamism. The book documents these successes along with the challenges that result from rapid change. Today, knowledge-driven industries generate almost half of US GDP, but divisions by educational level split the American political order. Students flock increasingly to fields connected to the power centers of American life and steer away from the liberal arts. And opportunities for economic mobility are expanding even as academic expectations decline. In describing how universities can meet such challenges head on, especially in improving classroom learning, the book offers not only a clear-eyed perspective on the current state of American higher education but also a pragmatically optimistic vision for the future.
Fiona Murray and Nicolay Worren
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199259281
- eISBN:
- 9780191714306
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259281.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, Knowledge Management
Numerous studies have explored the influence of firm size on the processes of technological innovation. Despite financial constraints and a limited knowledge base, small firms may possess a superior ...
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Numerous studies have explored the influence of firm size on the processes of technological innovation. Despite financial constraints and a limited knowledge base, small firms may possess a superior ability to innovate. In contrast, large firms often encounter systemic problems in transforming their extensive knowledge base to stimulate new innovations, despite the advantages of large research and development budgets, economies of scale and scope in production, and established links to customers. This chapter examines the nature of small firm advantages in building knowledge assets and organizational competence. Contrary to the assumption in economic reasoning that a large knowledge base is always an advantage, the limited knowledge base possessed by small entrepreneurial firms may be one of their key advantages. This advantage may be particularly significant when considered in the context of four other factors that are commonly observed in small firms: product development processes that more readily accommodate change and uncertainty; problem-solving heuristics that facilitate creative recombination of knowledge; close network ties between individuals that support transfers of non-codified knowledge; an internal organizational climate conducive to innovation.Less
Numerous studies have explored the influence of firm size on the processes of technological innovation. Despite financial constraints and a limited knowledge base, small firms may possess a superior ability to innovate. In contrast, large firms often encounter systemic problems in transforming their extensive knowledge base to stimulate new innovations, despite the advantages of large research and development budgets, economies of scale and scope in production, and established links to customers. This chapter examines the nature of small firm advantages in building knowledge assets and organizational competence. Contrary to the assumption in economic reasoning that a large knowledge base is always an advantage, the limited knowledge base possessed by small entrepreneurial firms may be one of their key advantages. This advantage may be particularly significant when considered in the context of four other factors that are commonly observed in small firms: product development processes that more readily accommodate change and uncertainty; problem-solving heuristics that facilitate creative recombination of knowledge; close network ties between individuals that support transfers of non-codified knowledge; an internal organizational climate conducive to innovation.
Maureen D. McKelvey
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198297246
- eISBN:
- 9780191685316
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198297246.003.0009
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Knowledge Management
This chapter discusses the book's description of parallel technological innovation processes which made possible the early commercial uses of genetic engineering for pharmaceuticals. The focus here ...
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This chapter discusses the book's description of parallel technological innovation processes which made possible the early commercial uses of genetic engineering for pharmaceuticals. The focus here has been on knowledge-seeking activities which led to results that agents could use to generate and select from alternative paths of development. The book examines technological innovation processes, which have a crucial and central role in market competition and economic change. Evolutionary economists argue that new technologies are important factors in determining the long-term viability and growth of an economy as well as the probability that individual firms will successfully compete over time. The relative importance of firms' competences versus their perceptions of opportunities is discussed here. This is placed in relation to how and why firms generate novelty leading to diversity. It is argued that the technological innovation processes described here follow an evolutionary pattern of change. One reason why evolutionary theory can be relevant for social science theory about innovations is that evolution gives us a metaphor for thinking about qualitative change.Less
This chapter discusses the book's description of parallel technological innovation processes which made possible the early commercial uses of genetic engineering for pharmaceuticals. The focus here has been on knowledge-seeking activities which led to results that agents could use to generate and select from alternative paths of development. The book examines technological innovation processes, which have a crucial and central role in market competition and economic change. Evolutionary economists argue that new technologies are important factors in determining the long-term viability and growth of an economy as well as the probability that individual firms will successfully compete over time. The relative importance of firms' competences versus their perceptions of opportunities is discussed here. This is placed in relation to how and why firms generate novelty leading to diversity. It is argued that the technological innovation processes described here follow an evolutionary pattern of change. One reason why evolutionary theory can be relevant for social science theory about innovations is that evolution gives us a metaphor for thinking about qualitative change.
Peter Zweifel
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199550685
- eISBN:
- 9780191720543
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199550685.003.0006
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
This chapter argues that there is a dual causal link between technological change and insurance. On the one hand, technological change often presents new opportunities, but also challenges to ...
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This chapter argues that there is a dual causal link between technological change and insurance. On the one hand, technological change often presents new opportunities, but also challenges to insurers. However, what has been rarely recognized up to now is that insurance may also induce technological change, in the guise of both product innovation and process innovation. The first part of the chapter discusses the impact of innovation on insurance, followed by innovation in medicine and its impact on health insurance. The second half is devoted to the reverse causal relationship, starting with the feedback from insurance to innovation, in general, and ending with the feedback from health insurance to technological change in medicine.Less
This chapter argues that there is a dual causal link between technological change and insurance. On the one hand, technological change often presents new opportunities, but also challenges to insurers. However, what has been rarely recognized up to now is that insurance may also induce technological change, in the guise of both product innovation and process innovation. The first part of the chapter discusses the impact of innovation on insurance, followed by innovation in medicine and its impact on health insurance. The second half is devoted to the reverse causal relationship, starting with the feedback from insurance to innovation, in general, and ending with the feedback from health insurance to technological change in medicine.
Giovanni Dosi, David J. Teece, and Josef Chytry
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198290964
- eISBN:
- 9780191596162
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198290969.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
The book is described as a collection of essays derived from papers in Industrial and Corporate Change that deal with issues lying at the intersection of the theory of the firm, industrial dynamics, ...
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The book is described as a collection of essays derived from papers in Industrial and Corporate Change that deal with issues lying at the intersection of the theory of the firm, industrial dynamics, and innovation. They are grouped into two parts: five focusing primarily on firms – their nature, internal organization, patterns of change, and relationships with each other, and four with relatively more emphasis on topics such as industrial dynamics, institutions, and interactions between corporate characteristics and rational determinants of competitiveness. The eight main themes of the book are described as: the understanding of firms as specific organizational forms whose behaviours and performances are largely shaped by their institutional arrangements; the analysis of organizational governance; the institutional embeddedness of organizations; the nature and degrees of path‐dependency of organizational forms and competitive outcomes; comparative analysis of the ways in which different organizations manage the integration of potentially conflictual interests; organizations as learning entities; strategic discretionality versus path‐dependency in corporate competences and orientations; and the co‐evolution of technologies, social communities of practitioners, industrial organizations, and institutions. The contents of each essay are discussed within this framework.Less
The book is described as a collection of essays derived from papers in Industrial and Corporate Change that deal with issues lying at the intersection of the theory of the firm, industrial dynamics, and innovation. They are grouped into two parts: five focusing primarily on firms – their nature, internal organization, patterns of change, and relationships with each other, and four with relatively more emphasis on topics such as industrial dynamics, institutions, and interactions between corporate characteristics and rational determinants of competitiveness. The eight main themes of the book are described as: the understanding of firms as specific organizational forms whose behaviours and performances are largely shaped by their institutional arrangements; the analysis of organizational governance; the institutional embeddedness of organizations; the nature and degrees of path‐dependency of organizational forms and competitive outcomes; comparative analysis of the ways in which different organizations manage the integration of potentially conflictual interests; organizations as learning entities; strategic discretionality versus path‐dependency in corporate competences and orientations; and the co‐evolution of technologies, social communities of practitioners, industrial organizations, and institutions. The contents of each essay are discussed within this framework.
David J. Teece
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295426
- eISBN:
- 9780191596964
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295421.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
The profitability and growth of business firms is increasingly dependent upon the development and astute deployment of intangible (knowledge) assets. Wealth creation in an open world economy depends ...
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The profitability and growth of business firms is increasingly dependent upon the development and astute deployment of intangible (knowledge) assets. Wealth creation in an open world economy depends critically on technological innovation. This in turn involves developing, owning, and astutely orchestrating knowledge assets and intellectual property. This is what is meant by dynamic capabilities. The value‐enhancing skills required in management are gravitating away from the administrative towards the entrepreneurial. The determinants of a firm's innovative capacity are rooted in organizational design, incentives, human resources, internal culture, and external linkages. Profiting from innovation is always a challenge, requiring the right business model, integration strategy, and organizational form. Licensing is one of many ways to capture value from innovation, but is generally not the most profitable, except when intellectual property rights are secure. Imitators are prolific and the survival and prosperity of the innovator requires the astute orchestration of intellectual property rights, and complementary assets. Managers designing market entry strategies must also be mindful of the evolution of standards.This book develops managerial principles and illustrates the interplay of these ideas. Technology‐licensing and cross‐licensing experiences are also presented—focusing in particular on semiconductor and the (float) glass industry.Less
The profitability and growth of business firms is increasingly dependent upon the development and astute deployment of intangible (knowledge) assets. Wealth creation in an open world economy depends critically on technological innovation. This in turn involves developing, owning, and astutely orchestrating knowledge assets and intellectual property. This is what is meant by dynamic capabilities. The value‐enhancing skills required in management are gravitating away from the administrative towards the entrepreneurial. The determinants of a firm's innovative capacity are rooted in organizational design, incentives, human resources, internal culture, and external linkages. Profiting from innovation is always a challenge, requiring the right business model, integration strategy, and organizational form. Licensing is one of many ways to capture value from innovation, but is generally not the most profitable, except when intellectual property rights are secure. Imitators are prolific and the survival and prosperity of the innovator requires the astute orchestration of intellectual property rights, and complementary assets. Managers designing market entry strategies must also be mindful of the evolution of standards.
This book develops managerial principles and illustrates the interplay of these ideas. Technology‐licensing and cross‐licensing experiences are also presented—focusing in particular on semiconductor and the (float) glass industry.
Frieder Meyer‐Krahmer
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199258178
- eISBN:
- 9780191595868
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199258171.003.0011
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
First gives an outline of the two prevailing views on the possibilities for solving the conflict between sustainable development and technological innovation – the sceptical and the optimistic. It ...
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First gives an outline of the two prevailing views on the possibilities for solving the conflict between sustainable development and technological innovation – the sceptical and the optimistic. It goes on to discuss three possible paths that industrial technological innovation can take towards environmental sustainability: more extensive use of environmentally acceptable alternatives (the traditional model), the closing and materials cycles and the integration of product policy and product use. The remaining sections of the chapter discuss sustainability and learning – the innovation strategies of firms, technology policy and environmental sustainability, and the role of regional, national, and international policies. It is concluded that an innovation policy for sustainability is still far from being conceptualized.Less
First gives an outline of the two prevailing views on the possibilities for solving the conflict between sustainable development and technological innovation – the sceptical and the optimistic. It goes on to discuss three possible paths that industrial technological innovation can take towards environmental sustainability: more extensive use of environmentally acceptable alternatives (the traditional model), the closing and materials cycles and the integration of product policy and product use. The remaining sections of the chapter discuss sustainability and learning – the innovation strategies of firms, technology policy and environmental sustainability, and the role of regional, national, and international policies. It is concluded that an innovation policy for sustainability is still far from being conceptualized.
Yujiro Hayami and Yoshihisa Godo
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199272709
- eISBN:
- 9780191602870
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199272700.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
As a basic framework of this book, development of the social system is considered a process of interactions between the economic subsystem and the cultural-institutional subsystem. The former ...
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As a basic framework of this book, development of the social system is considered a process of interactions between the economic subsystem and the cultural-institutional subsystem. The former consists of activities combining economic resources (labour, capital, and natural resources) through technology to produce goods and services useful for human living. These economic activities are coordinated and controlled by the latter, which consists of institutions (the rules of society) and culture (people's value system). A model is developed to conceptualize how technological and institutional changes interact with each other, how they respond to changes in resource endowments, and how such responses are governed by cultural traditions.Less
As a basic framework of this book, development of the social system is considered a process of interactions between the economic subsystem and the cultural-institutional subsystem. The former consists of activities combining economic resources (labour, capital, and natural resources) through technology to produce goods and services useful for human living. These economic activities are coordinated and controlled by the latter, which consists of institutions (the rules of society) and culture (people's value system). A model is developed to conceptualize how technological and institutional changes interact with each other, how they respond to changes in resource endowments, and how such responses are governed by cultural traditions.
