Technological Innovation Process Models

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Technological entrepreneurship is closely related to innovation, serving as a process to value innovations and identify market opportunities. Schumpeter's theory emphasizes the entrepreneur as an innovator, improving society, while Drucker suggests entrepreneurship involves 'creative imitation,' adapting innovations from other countries. Innovation is seen as a critical factor in technological entrepreneurship.

Rothwell’s Innovation Models

Roy Rothwell identified five generations of innovation models:

  1. Linear Model of Innovation ('50s-'60s): Technology push model where innovation arises from research and development.

  2. Market Pull ('60s-'70s): Innovations stem from perceived market requirements.

  3. Coupling: Combination of technology push and market pull, emphasizing feedback between market and research.

  4. Functionally Integrated Models ('80s –’90s): Characterized by product integration and simultaneous development.

  5. Systems Integration and Network Innovation (SIN) (1990s): Integration of systems and organizations through collaborative networks.

Abernathy-Utterback Model

This model explains how companies initially seek competitive advantage through product innovations, but as time progresses, they shift towards process innovations to minimize costs. It describes the dynamics between product and process innovation as industries mature.

Stage-Gate Model

Stage-gate models are used to manage new product development, requiring specific criteria to be met at each stage before proceeding.

Van de Ven Model

Van de Ven proposed a general model where innovation involves iterative, convergent, and divergent processes, recognizing the chaotic nature and addressing unknown events.

  • Innovation development takes place in a random sequence of probable events.

  • Innovative behaviour is unpredictable and involves a random or multiple variables mechanism.

  • The development of innovation converge to a final result that is somewhat different from the initial condition.

  • The journey of innovation occurs predictably.

Chain-Linked Model

This interactive model emphasizes the interaction between a company's market and technological opportunities, involving feedback loops between the stages of the innovation process.

Spiral Model

The spiral innovation model represents product development as a spiral, with each loop representing a phase of the process, suitable for software development with emergent properties.

Triple Helix Model

The 'triple helix' model illustrates university-industry-government relations, describing multiple mutual relations in different points of the accumulation of knowledge process.