The “sailing-ship effect” is the process whereby improvements to an incumbent technology (e.g. sail) are intentionally sought as a new competing technology (steam) emerges. Despite the fact that the effect has been referred to by quite a few scholars in different technological battles, the effect itself seems to have been taken for granted rather than organically defined and investigated. In this paper, within the context of evolutionary “appreciative theorizing” a` la Nelson and Winter, through in-depth study of technological battles between old and new technologies, we transform what was an unfinished concept into a structured, fully-fledged, tool of analysis.

The “sailing-ship effect” as a technological principle

Filatrella, Giovanni
2021-01-01

Abstract

The “sailing-ship effect” is the process whereby improvements to an incumbent technology (e.g. sail) are intentionally sought as a new competing technology (steam) emerges. Despite the fact that the effect has been referred to by quite a few scholars in different technological battles, the effect itself seems to have been taken for granted rather than organically defined and investigated. In this paper, within the context of evolutionary “appreciative theorizing” a` la Nelson and Winter, through in-depth study of technological battles between old and new technologies, we transform what was an unfinished concept into a structured, fully-fledged, tool of analysis.
2021
Technological Change: Choices and Consequences
Choice of Technology
Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12070/49958
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