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Comment on ‘Is open innovation a field of study or a communication barrier to theory development?’
Technovation 30 (2010) 556
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Technovation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/technovation
Discussion
Comment on ‘Is open innovation a field of study or a communication barrier to theory development?’ Harold A. Linstone Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Professor Emeritus of Systems Science, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
Terminology is an all-too-common problem in dynamic fields. It is exacerbated as younger researchers and analysts are unaware of earlier work done by their predecessors. Furthermore, use of a new label is an attractive sales technique, even if only an improvement or extension of a concept is involved. I have found that ‘‘technology foresight’’ has become popular since the 1980s although much of the same work was performed
DOI of original article: 10.1016/j.technovation.2010.09.002 E-mail address: [email protected] 0166-4972/$ - see front matter & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2010.09.004
as ‘‘technology forecasting’’ by a previous generation. Similarly, the Delphi method, developed at the RAND Corporation in the 1950s is now known by various other names in its current reincarnations and derivatives. Developing precise formal definitions and boundaries may satisfy academic rigor but is not likely to prove a very productive pursuit in practical terms.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Technovation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/technovation
Discussion
Comment on ‘Is open innovation a field of study or a communication barrier to theory development?’ Harold A. Linstone Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Professor Emeritus of Systems Science, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
Terminology is an all-too-common problem in dynamic fields. It is exacerbated as younger researchers and analysts are unaware of earlier work done by their predecessors. Furthermore, use of a new label is an attractive sales technique, even if only an improvement or extension of a concept is involved. I have found that ‘‘technology foresight’’ has become popular since the 1980s although much of the same work was performed
DOI of original article: 10.1016/j.technovation.2010.09.002 E-mail address: [email protected] 0166-4972/$ - see front matter & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2010.09.004
as ‘‘technology forecasting’’ by a previous generation. Similarly, the Delphi method, developed at the RAND Corporation in the 1950s is now known by various other names in its current reincarnations and derivatives. Developing precise formal definitions and boundaries may satisfy academic rigor but is not likely to prove a very productive pursuit in practical terms.