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

Managing technological innovations and related policy and strategy issues have been a central focus of the new millennium. This book series presents an interdisciplinary scholarship and dialogue on the management of innovation and technological change in a global context from a variety of perspectives, including strategic, managerial, behavioral, and policy issues. Papers selected in this volume have four prominent themes: the wide spread interests and the global application of the technological innovation; the practicality of the research on technological innovation implementation to foster success and financial growth; the socio-technical challenges behind innovation and creativity that might outweigh the benefits; and the new principles/practices/perspectives on our understanding of the technological innovation. Contributed by prominent scholars and practitioners from around the world in innovation, management and policy area, this book will become a very useful read for anyone who is interested in learning the most contemporary perspectives on the subject.

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.

The book provides a basic introduction on innovation technology in research and industry, mainly chemical/ technical industry and therefore bridges the gap between academic and corporate markets. The different innovation stages are discussed and tools presented how to successfully apply this knowledge within a research organization.

New technologies often appear to be beyond the control of any governing systems. This is especially true for transformative technologies. This book examines the deep governing structures of transformative technology and innovation in an effort to identify which actors can be expected to act when, under what conditions and to what effect.

An edited volume on factors determining success or failure of energy technology innovation, for researchers and policy makers.

Researchers and students in the management of innovation will find in this book an analytical framework that articulates technological innovation processes and the creation of new markets. The multiplication of examples and cases helps the reader in better grasping the different aspects of the proposed framework. The focus on information and communication technologies is of high relevance: it enables the reader to put present developments in perspective, and this is especially relevant when discussing ascending innovation and the role of users and uses. Philippe Laredo, Universities of Paris-Est and Manchester, Coordinator of the European PRIME Network of Excellence Patrice Flichy takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the literature on technological innovation. Innovation is situated within the frames of functioning and use, offering rich insights into the strategies, tactics, improvisations and learning which occur through time. He emphasises the dreams and musings of inventors, novelists and the popular media to show how they mediate new technological frames of reference. This book offers an excellent synthesis of the literature and an original historical account of innovation with special reference to information and communication technologies. Robin Mansell, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK In Understanding Technological Innovation, Patrice Flichy s interest is in the genesis of technology. He describes the perspectives and interpretive schemes deployed by historians, sociologists and economists in attempts to understand the determinants, including chance, of the particular forms of products and systems that have come to dominate the market and play so important a role some would claim dominant in our lives. It is rare to find in one volume so informed a critique of the essential writings of historians of technology, contemporary sociologists and economic historians. His own special interest lies in the development of information technology and he puts his expertise to good use in revealing and contrasting the different perspectives and claims of these three schools. Louis L. Bucciarelli, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Working at the interface between interactionist sociology, history and economics, Flichy provides us with a language for charting the evolution of new technologies, as generic technical capabilities are explored, perhaps inspired by visions of societal change, and become stabilised and attached to particular conceptions of use. He offers us an integrated perspective on technological innovation, addressing the influence of history and social context whilst remaining open to the often unanticipated dynamism and surprises that may surround both these trajectories. This book will provide a thoughtful contribution to current debates. The critical literature review will provide a rich and convenient source for advanced teaching and research training. Robin Williams, The University of Edinburgh, UK How do the social sciences address the question of innovation and the relationship between technology and use? This is the core point of this book which examines critically diverse works, in sociology, history, economics and anthropology, in order to formulate a new approach. This reflection is essentially of a general nature, though the cases used to illustrate the analysis are drawn primarily from the field of ICT. Patrice Flichy studies how the socio-technological actions of the different actors, particularly designers and users, are organized within the same frames of reference. He also introduces a new element into the model by demonstrating how time is involved in technological choices. Understanding Technological Innovation will be essential reading for advanced teaching and research training in the fields of science and technology studies, and media and communication studies.

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.