Technological Innovation
16/06/2023
Overview
Why are technologies important? The canonical ancient inventors were experts in astronomy, math, philosophy, medicine, and more. However, with increasing specialization, even the brightest minds of our time struggle through a workday without access to their computers or mobile phones. Technologies (embedded knowledge) receive much attention because they weave the web that connects our capabilities. They are artifacts that carry the know-how and skills of thousands or millions of others and enable the creation of things beyond the sum of what each of those individuals could have built. Why study technologies? It is the complexity of our technological web which has helped us build what was unattainable to our ancestors. Nonetheless, this growing complexity is a double-edged sword. It has offered new opportunities but also resulted in unprecedented burdens, such as the concentration of wealth and inequality. The following projects examine the dynamics of technological innovation and economics of technical change to explain the observed reality and help shape a better future.
Not All Recombinations Are Created Equal: The Recombination Premiums Framework
Collaboration with Hyejin Youn and Ali Tafti. Abstract: We consider the relationship between firm’s innovative search and its performance. The extant literature has considered search as a process of recombining technical or knowledge components. However, prior work has obscured heterogeneities in the extent to which different technologies can be recombined and the impact of such differences on the recombination outcomes. Explicitly considering such heterogeneities are particularly critical when major technological changes are unfolding, such as the diffusion of general-purpose technologies. We develop the recombination premiums framework on the premise of recombination heterogeneities: that certain technologies are more likely to form cross-boundary useful combinations. We further explore how recombination premiums manifest through explorative versus exploitative search. Using a comprehensive panel of firms’ financial statements and innovation records, various econometric models, and measurement approaches, we quantify the effects of recombination premiums on the short-term and long-term performance. Our findings carry implications for corporate strategy and innovation. Figure shows the Growth of Digital Patents and Firms with Digital Patents over Time
Once Peripheral, Now General: The Pervasion of Digital Technology
Collaboration with Ali Tafti. Abstract: Here, we use US patent data to test whether digital technologies manifest patterns consistent with GPT's definition. We distinguish between two perspectives of technologies: 1. Inputs to the invention; 2. Outputs of the invention. We find that only by adopting the former view do digital technologies fit the GPT's definition. This finding carries implications for empirical research and we incorporate it into the second dissertation chapter. Figure shows the Movement of Classes of Digital Inventions over Time.
Anchor-based Representation to Predict The Value of Technologies in Different Domains
Collaboration with Hyejin Youn and Ali Tafti. Abstract: In this work, we develop a framework to model the technological ecosystem with the purpose of predicting the value of novel technologies. We propose an empirical solution to the problem of representing technologies recursively (based on anchors.) Two concepts are tested: i) the power of anchor-based representation of technologies to explain variation in generic quality of patents (number of citations) ii) explanatory power of the domain-based value of patents (number of citations received from different domains.) Preliminary results strongly support the first and provide partial support for the second. Figure shows the Position of Anchors We Identified (blue nodes) in the Giant Component of the Patent Network
