Textbooks offer no single recipe.
The history of the development of Surlyn ionomer resins at DuPont teaches that the process is not simple , requires close interaction of the researcher and the marketplace, fortitude by business leaders, and incredible perseverance of those on a development team. In 1968 the DuPont Company undertook a detailed analysis of several of its ongoing ventures in research and development. They certainly seemed very reasonable at the time. This Table from 1968 reminds us of how little we understand about the workings of discontinuous innovation, the sudden appearance of a major breakthrough in technology that can yield entirely new products, processes, or services. We do not appreciate that such results occur only after great difficulty and long perseverance, and involve the interaction of technological research and market development in a long roller coaster ride toward ultimate success.