Innovation is URLanizations what evolution is URLanisms: it is how they adapt to changes in the environment and improve. Yet despite steady advances in how evolutionworks , what drives innovation remains elusive. We derive a theory of innovationin which products are composed of components and new components are adopted one at a time. We test it on data from language, gastronomy and technology. We show that the rate of innovation depends on the size distribution of products, and that a small number of simple products can dramatically increase the innovation rate. By strategically choosing which components to adopt , we show how to increase the innovation rate to achieve short-term gain or long-term growth.
Innovation is URLanizations what evolution is URLanisms: it is URLanisations adapt to changes in the environment and improve. Yet despite steady advances in our understanding of evolution , what drives innovation remains elusive. There is a tension between a managerial school, which seeks a systematic prescription for innovation, and a visionary school, which ascribes innovation to serendipity and the intuition of great minds. We therefore provide a mathematical foundation for innovation---in which products are made of components and components are acquired one at a time---which serves as a common framework for both. We apply our model to data from language, gastronomy and technology. By strategically choosing which components to adopt as the innovation process unfolds, we can alter the innovation rate to achieve short-term gain or long-term growth.
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We derive a theory of innovationin which products are composed
There is a tension between a managerial school, which seeks a systematic prescription for innovation, and a visionary school, which ascribes innovation to serendipity and the intuition of great minds. We therefore provide a mathematical foundation for innovation---in which products are made
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new components are adopted
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We show that the rate of innovation depends on the size distribution of products, and that a small number of simple products can dramatically increase the innovation rate.
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