This volume examines the role of scientific and technical information in the innovation process. The authors are primarily concerned with federally supported scientific and technical information which can be used to improve technology development for nondefense purposes--and thus help improve the international economic competitiveness of the United States. As the authors note at the outset, the federal government already makes a substantial investment in creating scientific and technical information. Their study is designed to first evaluate the ways in which this investment can be better used to improve our innovation capacity and then to assess the policy implications for the federal government and private sector R&D firms. Divided into three principal parts, the book begins by discussing the relationship between information and innovation, with particular emphasis on the use of information in the private sector. Part II characterizes existing federal policy related to information, technology transfer, and innovation and examines whether federally supported R&D is responsive to the needs of technological development and economic competitiveness. The final section addresses federal strategies to improve the use of federal R&D in these areas. Throughout, the authors pay special attention to issues surrounding the relationships between information providers and users. An important contribution to the ongoing debate on U.S. competitiveness abroad, this book offers important new insights into the ways in which government policy might be redesigned to help foster higher levels of technological innovation among U.S. firms.

Managing technological innovations and related policy and strategy issues have been a central focus of the new millennium. This book series presents an interdisciplinary scholarship and dialogue on the management of innovation and technological change in a global context from a variety of perspectives, including strategic, managerial, behavioral, and policy issues. Papers selected in this volume have four prominent themes: the wide spread interests and the global application of the technological innovation; the practicality of the research on technological innovation implementation to foster success and financial growth; the socio-technical challenges behind innovation and creativity that might outweigh the benefits; and the new principles/practices/perspectives on our understanding of the technological innovation. Contributed by prominent scholars and practitioners from around the world in innovation, management and policy area, this book will become a very useful read for anyone who is interested in learning the most contemporary perspectives on the subject.

Researchers and students in the management of innovation will find in this book an analytical framework that articulates technological innovation processes and the creation of new markets. The multiplication of examples and cases helps the reader in better grasping the different aspects of the proposed framework. The focus on information and communication technologies is of high relevance: it enables the reader to put present developments in perspective, and this is especially relevant when discussing ascending innovation and the role of users and uses. Philippe Laredo, Universities of Paris-Est and Manchester, Coordinator of the European PRIME Network of Excellence Patrice Flichy takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the literature on technological innovation. Innovation is situated within the frames of functioning and use, offering rich insights into the strategies, tactics, improvisations and learning which occur through time. He emphasises the dreams and musings of inventors, novelists and the popular media to show how they mediate new technological frames of reference. This book offers an excellent synthesis of the literature and an original historical account of innovation with special reference to information and communication technologies. Robin Mansell, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK In Understanding Technological Innovation, Patrice Flichy s interest is in the genesis of technology. He describes the perspectives and interpretive schemes deployed by historians, sociologists and economists in attempts to understand the determinants, including chance, of the particular forms of products and systems that have come to dominate the market and play so important a role some would claim dominant in our lives. It is rare to find in one volume so informed a critique of the essential writings of historians of technology, contemporary sociologists and economic historians. His own special interest lies in the development of information technology and he puts his expertise to good use in revealing and contrasting the different perspectives and claims of these three schools. Louis L. Bucciarelli, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Working at the interface between interactionist sociology, history and economics, Flichy provides us with a language for charting the evolution of new technologies, as generic technical capabilities are explored, perhaps inspired by visions of societal change, and become stabilised and attached to particular conceptions of use. He offers us an integrated perspective on technological innovation, addressing the influence of history and social context whilst remaining open to the often unanticipated dynamism and surprises that may surround both these trajectories. This book will provide a thoughtful contribution to current debates. The critical literature review will provide a rich and convenient source for advanced teaching and research training. Robin Williams, The University of Edinburgh, UK How do the social sciences address the question of innovation and the relationship between technology and use? This is the core point of this book which examines critically diverse works, in sociology, history, economics and anthropology, in order to formulate a new approach. This reflection is essentially of a general nature, though the cases used to illustrate the analysis are drawn primarily from the field of ICT. Patrice Flichy studies how the socio-technological actions of the different actors, particularly designers and users, are organized within the same frames of reference. He also introduces a new element into the model by demonstrating how time is involved in technological choices. Understanding Technological Innovation will be essential reading for advanced teaching and research training in the fields of science and technology studies, and media and communication studies.

Science and technology have become increasingly intertwined in the twentieth century. However, little attention has been paid to the forces that have brought about this phenomena. Indeed, many writers have taken it for granted that causality always runs from science to technology. In this ground-breaking book, Rosenberg's research suggests that history and empirical evidence lead to a reality that is far more complex and interesting. Here, Rosenberg's papers cover a wide range of topics, especially those connected with the innovative process, including electric power, electronics, medicine, chemistry, engineering disciplines, scientific instrumentation, industrial research, and universities considered as economic institutions.

This book outlines a number of different perspectives on the relationship between science, technology, and innovation in emerging economies. In it, the authors explore the aforementioned relationship as a pillar of economic development, driving growth in emerging economies. Employing a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, the authors work to determine the main related factors and outcomes of the relationship between science, technology, and innovation, ultimately seeking to guide public policies to enhance the welfare of the population of an emerging economy.

Volume 1. Colonial America to 1865 -- volume 2. Reconstruction through World War II -- volume 3. The Cold War to the present.