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. 2018 May 24;13(5):e0197024.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197024. eCollection 2018.

A multi-level model of emerging technology: An empirical study of the evolution of biotechnology from 1976 to 2003

Ad van den Oord  1   2 , Arjen van Witteloostuijn  2   3   4
Affiliations

A multi-level model of emerging technology: An empirical study of the evolution of biotechnology from 1976 to 2003

Ad van den Oord et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

In this paper, we develop an ecological, multi-level model that can be used to study the evolution of emerging technology. More specifically, by defining technology as a system composed of a set of interacting components, we can build upon the argument of multi-level density dependence from organizational ecology to develop a distribution-independent model of technological evolution. This allows us to distinguish between different stages of component development, which provides more insight into the emergence of stable component configurations, or dominant designs. We validate our hypotheses in the biotechnology industry by using patent data from the USPTO from 1976 to 2003.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Alternative technological design configurations.
The nodes are technological components.
Fig 2
Fig 2. The organization’s strategy and stages of technological development.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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