Chapter Three - Types of Patterns of Innovation

Textbook Chapter Three - Key Terms and Definitions

Technology Trajectory

The path a technology takes through its lifetime. This path may refer to its rate of performance improvement, its rate of diffusion, or other change of interest.

Radical Innovation

An innovation that is very new and different from prior solutions.

Incremental Innovation

An innovation that makes a relatively minor change from (or adjustment to) existing practices.

Competence Enhancing

A competence-enhancing innovation builds on existing knowledge and skills whereas a competence-destroying innovation renders existing knowledge and skills obsolete. Whether an innovation is competence enhancing or competence destroying depends on whose perspective is being taken. An innovation can be competence enhancing to one firm, while competence destroying for another.

Competence Destroying Innovation

Renders existing knowledge and skills obsolete.

Component Innovation (Modular Innovation)

An innovation to one or more components that does not significantly affect the overall configuration of the system.

Architectural Innovation

An innovation that changes the overall design of a system or the way its components interact with each other.

Discontinuous Technology

A technology that fulfills a similar market need by building on an entirely new knowledge base.

Technology Diffusion

The spread of a technology through a population.

Dominant Design

A product design that is adopted by the majority of producers, typically creating a stable architecture on which the industry can focus its efforts.