Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
5036901 Technological Forecasting and Social Change 2017 9 Pages PDF
Abstract

•Study of technology evolution in ERP software and PCR DNA amplification•Similar patterns of scaling were found in both of these process-based technologies.•Sequences of “temporal scaling” followed by “multiplicative scaling”

The design evolution of two important process-based technologies, PCR DNA amplification and ERP software, was punctuated by discrete leaps in scale. From comparison of these technologies we distill a stage model centering on the phenomenon of increasing scale while clarifying just what the concept of scale means in the context of process-based technologies. Process-based technologies turn out to be distinctive because of the temporal aspect of scaling; although scaling up usually refers to spatial dimensions of scale, this research highlights the temporal dimension to scale. Temporal scaling can be complemented by multiplicative scaling, a design innovation enabling multiple processes to be performed in parallel. After highlighting different patterns of innovation from those that characterize manufactured products as conveyed by classic product-process lifecycle models, we reconcile our stage model with these classic lifecycle models: although the sequence of innovation phases is different, the overall evolution of the underlying economic logic motivating technology developers is actually rather similar.

Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities Business, Management and Accounting Business and International Management
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