Technological Innovation as an Evolutionary Process

Technological Innovation as an Evolutionary Process
Author: John M. Ziman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2003-09-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521542173

Ground-breaking yet non-technical analysis of the analogy that technological artefacts 'evolve' like biological organisms.

Detecting and Explaining Technological Innovation in Prehistory

Detecting and Explaining Technological Innovation in Prehistory
Author: Michela Spataro
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019-12-19
Genre:
ISBN: 9789088908248

Technology refers to any set of standardised procedures for transforming raw materials into finished products. Innovation consists of any change in technology which has tangible and lasting effect on human practices, whether or not it provides utilitarian advantages. Prehistoric societies were never static, but the tempo of innovation occasionally increased to the point that we can refer to transformation taking place. Prehistorians must therefore identify factors promoting or hindering innovation.This volume stems from an international workshop, organised by the Collaborative Research Centre 1266 'Scales of Transformation' at Kiel University in November 2017. The meeting challenged its participants to detect and explain technological change in the past and its role in transformation processes, using archaeological and ethnographic case studies. The papers draw mainly on examples from prehistoric Europe, but case-studies from Iran, the Indus Valley, and contemporary central America are also included. The authors adopt several perspectives, including cultural-historical, economic, environmental, demographic, functional, and agent-based approaches.These case studies often rely on interdisciplinary research, whereby field archaeology, archaeometric analysis, experimental archaeology and ethnographic research are used together to observe and explain innovations and changes in the artisan's repertoire. The results demonstrate that interdisciplinary research is becoming essential to understanding transformation phenomena in prehistoric archaeology, superseding typo-chronological description and comparison.This book is a scholarly publication aimed at academic researchers, particularly archaeologists and archaeological scientists working on ceramics, osseous and metal artifacts.

On the Origin of Products

On the Origin of Products
Author: Arthur O. Eger
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2018-02-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1316947300

In this new work, Arthur O. Eger and Huub Ehlhardt present a 'Theory of Product Evolution'. They challenge the popular notion that we owe the availability of products solely to genius inventors. Instead, they present arguments that show that a process of variation, selection, and accumulation of 'know-how' (to make) and 'know-what' (function to realize) provide an explanation for the emergence of new types of products and their subsequent development into families of advanced versions. This theory employs a product evolution diagram as an analytical framework to reconstruct the development history of a product family and picture it as a graphical narrative. The authors describe the relevant literature and case studies to place their theory in context. The 'Product Phases Theory' is used to create predictions on the most likely next step in the evolution of a product, offering practical tools for those involved in new product development.

The Process of Technological Innovation

The Process of Technological Innovation
Author: National Science Foundation (U.S.). Division of Industrial Science and Technological Innovation. Productivity Improvement Research Section
Publisher:
Total Pages: 294
Release: 1983
Genre: Industrial policy
ISBN:

Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 1

Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 1
Author: Dimitri Uzunidis
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2021-06-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1119832489

Innovation, in economic activity, in managerial concepts and in engineering design, results from creative activities, entrepreneurial strategies and the business climate. Innovation leads to technological, organizational and commercial changes, due to the relationships between enterprises, public institutions and civil society organizations. These innovation networks create new knowledge and contribute to the dissemination of new socio-economic and technological models, through new production and marketing methods. Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 1 is the first of the two volumes that comprise this book. The main objectives across both volumes are to study the innovation processes in todays information and knowledge society; to analyze how links between research and business have intensified; and to discuss the methods by which innovation emerges and is managed by firms, not only from a local perspective but also a global one. The studies presented in these two volumes contribute toward an understanding of the systemic nature of innovations and enable reflection on their potential applications, in order to think about the meaning of growth and prosperity.

The Idea of Technological Innovation

The Idea of Technological Innovation
Author: Benoît Godin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020
Genre: Technological innovations
ISBN: 9781839104015

This timely book explores technological innovation as a concept, dissecting its emergence, development and use. Benoît Godin offers an exciting new historiography of the subject, arguing that the study of innovation originates not from scholars but from practitioners of innovation. Godin looks to engineers, managers, consultants and policymakers as the instigators of our current understanding of technological innovation. Offering a conceptual history of the subject, Part I considers the many iterations of innovation - as an science applied, outcome, process and system - to track and analyse the changing discourses surrounding technological innovation. In Part II, the author turns to historic and contemporary innovation policy to illustrate the critical role that practitioners have had in formulating and strategizing policy. Effectively rewriting the historiography of the topic, this book is critical reading for scholars of innovation studies, sociology and the history of science and technology. Students will benefit from Godin's pioneering approach to the subject and policymakers will also find value in the book's unique insight into innovation.

The Management of Technological Innovation

The Management of Technological Innovation
Author: Mark Dodgson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2008-02-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0199208522

The management of technological innovation (MTI) is one of the most important challenges facing businesses today. Innovation has become the fundamental driver of competitiveness for firms of all sizes in virtually all business sectors and nations.The first edition of this book has become one of the most popular texts for students of innovation and technology management. This new edition sees David Gann and Ammon Salter join Mark Dodgson as authors, drawing on their combined experience of 60 years of researching and teaching MTI. It combines the most relevant theoretical analysis with contemporary and historical empirical evidence to provide a comprehensive, yet concise and readable, guide to the challenges of MTI.By explaining the innovation process the book reveals the broad scope of MTI and its importance for company survival, growth and sustainability. It describes how MTI has to be managed strategically and how this is successfully achieved by formulating and implementing strategy and delivering value. Chapters provide frameworks, tools and techniques, and case studies on managing: innovation strategy, communities, and networks, R&D, design and new product and service development, operationsand production, and commercialization.Based on robust analysis, the book provides a wide range of empirical evidence from a huge diversity of case studies, with around fifty case studies newly written for this edition. It analyses MTI in all parts of the world, in companies large and small, and in services, manufacturing, and resource-based business sectors.This new edition has been fully revised and updated to reflect the latest teaching and research, and to ensure its continuing relevance to the contemporary world of MTI. It will be an important resource for academics, students, and managers throughout the world, is a recommended text for students of innovation and technology management at postgraduate and undergraduate level, and is particularly valuable for MBA courses.

Assessing the Value of Research in the Chemical Sciences

Assessing the Value of Research in the Chemical Sciences
Author: Chemical Sciences Roundtable
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 138
Release: 1998-11-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309519764

This book captures the messages from a workshop that brought together research managers from government, industry, and academia to review and discuss the mechanisms that have been proposed or used to assess the value of chemical research. The workshop focused on the assessment procedures that have been or will be established within the various organizations that carry out or fund research activities, with particular attention to the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). The book presents approaches and ideas from leaders in each area that were intended to identify new and useful ways of assessing the value and potential impact of research activities.

Studies on Science and the Innovation Process

Studies on Science and the Innovation Process
Author: Nathan Rosenberg
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company Incorporated
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2010
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789814273589

Science and technology have become increasingly intertwined in the twentieth century. However, little attention has been paid to the forces that have brought about this phenomena. Indeed, many writers have taken it for granted that causality always runs from science to technology. In this ground-breaking book, Rosenberg's research suggests that history and empirical evidence lead to a reality that is far more complex and interesting. Here, Rosenberg's papers cover a wide range of topics, especially those connected with the innovative process, including electric power, electronics, medicine, chemistry, engineering disciplines, scientific instrumentation, industrial research, and universities considered as economic institutions.