Classifications of Innovations Survey and Future Directions
📝 Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to focus on similarity and/or heterogeneity of taxonomies of innovation present in the economic fields to show as the economic literature uses different names to indicate the same type of technical change and innovation, and the same name for different types of innovation. This ambiguity of classification makes it impossible to compare the various studies; moreover the numerous typologies existing in the economics of innovation, technometrics, economics of technical change, management of technology, etc., have hindered the development of knowledge in these fields. The research presents also new directions on the classification of innovation that try to overcome these problems.
💡 Analysis
The purpose of this paper is to focus on similarity and/or heterogeneity of taxonomies of innovation present in the economic fields to show as the economic literature uses different names to indicate the same type of technical change and innovation, and the same name for different types of innovation. This ambiguity of classification makes it impossible to compare the various studies; moreover the numerous typologies existing in the economics of innovation, technometrics, economics of technical change, management of technology, etc., have hindered the development of knowledge in these fields. The research presents also new directions on the classification of innovation that try to overcome these problems.
📄 Content
Ceris-Cnr, W.P. N° 2/2006
3
Classifications of Innovations
Survey and Future Directions
Mario Coccia
(Ceris-Cnr, Italia & Max-Planck Institute of Economics,
Germania)
National Research Council of Italy, Ceris-Cnr
Via Real Collegio, 30
10024 Moncalieri (Torino) – Italy
Tel.: +39.011.6824.925; Fax: +39.011.6824.966; email: m.coccia@ceris.cnr.it
ABSTRACT. The purpose of this paper is to focus on similarity and/or heterogeneity of
taxonomies of innovation present in the economic fields to show as the economic literature
uses different names to indicate the same type of technical change and innovation, and the
same name for different types of innovation. This ambiguity of classification makes it
impossible to compare the various studies; moreover the numerous typologies existing in
the economics of innovation, technometrics, economics of technical change, management
of technology, etc., have hindered the development of knowledge in these fields. The
research presents also new directions on the classification of innovation that try to
overcome these problems.
KEYWORDS:
Classifications, Taxonomy, Technical change, Product, Innovation Patterns, Management
of Technology, Economics of innovation
JEL CODES:
B11, B12, B20, B41, O30
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. I am grateful to Secondo Rolfo (Ceris-Cnr, Italia), Ian McCarthy (SFU Business, Simon Fraser
University, Vancouver; Canada) for useful suggestions to a preliminary draft of this paper. Any errors are my sole
responsibility.
WORKING PAPER CERIS-CNR
Anno 8, N° 2 – 2006
Autorizzazione del Tribunale di Torino
N. 2681 del 28 marzo 1977
Direttore Responsabile
Secondo Rolfo
Direzione e Redazione
Ceris-Cnr
Istituto di Ricerca sull’Impresa e lo Sviluppo
Via Real Collegio, 30
10024 Moncalieri (Torino), Italy
Tel. +39 011 6824.911
Fax +39 011 6824.966
segreteria@ceris.cnr.it
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Segreteria di redazione
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m.zittino@ceris.cnr.it
Distribuzione
Spedizione gratuita
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Finito di stampare nel mese di August 2006
Ceris-Cnr, W.P. N° 2/2006
5
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7
- CLASSIFICATION OF TECHNICAL CHANGE AND INNOVATION INTENSITY: A LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………………………………………………………………………………….8 1.1 Taxonomies of innovation in economics of innovation…………………………………………………….8 1.2 Classifications of innovations within the management of technology (MOT) ……………………11
- DISCUSSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS …………………………………………………………………………14
- CONCLUDING REMARKS………………………………………………………………………………………………….16
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….17
WORKING PAPER SERIES (2006-1993) ……………………………………………………………………………….I-VI
Ceris-Cnr, W.P. N° 2/2006
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INTRODUCTION
he capacity to innovate is an important
strategic option for many firms and
countries. It is also a central and
enduring research theme for academics, which
have spent the last 70 years defining, explaining
and measuring innovation in its many forms. A
popular and fundamental approach that has
accompanied these studies is the classification
of innovation, which is both a process (to
classify) and an output of the process (a
classification).
The
classification
provides
models for ordering, labeling, and articulating
knowledge about the diversity of innovations.
Classification helps us to arrange and structure
our knowledge in a way that is more fruitful and
transferable that a simple list of descriptions.
The classifications of technical change and
innovation, and its interpretation, remains one of
the most difficult problems for scholars to
analyze, due to the several variables involved
and because the innovation can have different
causes of origin.
As classification is a common process in the physical, life and social sciences: the result is a diverse range of interpretations and frequent misuse of classification terms, theories and methods. Although the words “category” and “taxonomy” are almost synonyms, they are very different in age. As early as 2,300 years ago, the father of all taxonomies, Aristotle, often used, the word “Kathegoría”. The word taxonomy is, on the contrary, a recent one, dating to the first half of
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