Radical and Incremental Innovations: Difficulties in Definition and Differentiation
Research Article
How to Cite
Samovoleva S.A. Radical and Incremental Innovations: Difficulties in Definition and Differentiation. Science Management: Theory and Practice. 2022. Vol. 4. No. 4. P. 117-134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/smtp.2022.4.4.7 (in Russ.).
Abstract
The differentiation of innovation into radical and incremental is widespread in the economic literature. It seems simple at first glance, but it is not. Firstly, researchers focus on different features to distinguish these types of innovations. In other words, there is a variety of approaches to the definition of these innovations. Secondly, the proposed characteristics are often subjective. Thirdly, the difficulties in measuring radical and incremental innovations are related to the methodology for collecting relevant statistical data. Thus, the lack of a clear and consistent theoretical and methodological framework does not allow clear understandingof the incremental or radical nature of the innovation activities results and exact assessment of these results. However, researchers are not always given sufficient attention to these difficulties. This paper is devoted to the analysis of key issues that make it difficult to distinguish between incremental and radical innovations.
Keywords:
types of innovations, radical innovation, performance evaluating, statistics, competitiveness, export, innovation policy
References
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2. Henderson, R. M. and Clark, K. B. (1990). Architectural innovation: The reconfiguration of existing product technologies and the failure of established firms. Administrative science quarterly. P. 9–30.
3. Garcia, R. and Calantone, R. (2002). A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness terminology: a literature review. Journal of Product Innovation Management: An international publication of the product development & management association. Vol. 19, no. 2. P. 110–132.
4. Sood, A. and Tellis, G. J. (2005). Technological evolution and radical innovation. Journal of marketing. Vol. 69, no. 3. P. 152–168.
5. Audretsch, D. and Aldridge, T. (2008). Radical innovation: literature review and development of an indicator. Draft Report to International Consortium on Entrepreneurship. P. 3–42.
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8. Gokhberg, L. M., Kuznetsova, T. E. and Rud’, V. A. (2010). Analiz innovatsionnykh rezhimov v rossiiskoi ekonomike: metodologicheskie podkhody i pervye rezul’taty [Analysis of innovative regimes in the Russian economy: methodological approaches and first results]. Foresight. Vol. 4, no. 3. P. 18–30. (In Russ.).
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10. Frolov, A. B. (2013). NBIC-technologies’ development in the USA. Innovations. No. 7 (177). P. 63–73. (In Russ.).
11. Golichenko, O. G. and Popov, A. B. (2021). Life cycle of the main product as an indicator of enterprises’ innovation advancement. Innovations. No. 3. P. 51–59. (In Russ.).
12. Cooke, P. (2018). Evolutionary complexity geography and the future of regional innovation and growth policies. Resilience and Regional Dynamics. P. 11–30.
13. Gumerova, G. I., Khyuzig, S., Shaimieva, E. Sh. and Sheve, G. (2021). O vidakh innovatsii po stepeni novizny: radikal’nye innovatsii (klassifikatsiya, primery, teoreticheskie podkhody k analizu keisov) [On the types of innovations according to the degree of novelty: radical innovations (classification, examples, theoretical approaches to case analysis)]. In: Nauchnye issledovaniya: fundamental’nye i prikladnye aspekty-2021: Sbornik nauchnykh trudov, Naberezhnye Chelny, 01 yanvarya – 31 dekabrya 2021 goda [Scientific research: fundamental and applied aspects – 2021 : Collection of scientific papers, Naberezhnye Chelny, January 01 – December 31, 2021]. Kazan: Poznanie. P. 84–87. (In Russ.).
14. Christensen, C. M. (1997). The Innovators Dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1997.
15. Christensen, C. M., Raynor, M. E. and McDonald, R. (2015). What is disruptive innovation. Harvard Business Review. Vol. 93 (12). P. 44–53.
16. Zakharova, A. I. and Samovoleva, S. A. (2018). Marketing innovatsii: opredelenie i kharakternye osobennosti funktsii [Innovation marketing: definition and characteristic features of functions]. Drukerovskij vestnik. No. 5. P. 140–150. (In Russ.).
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22. Ireland, R. D. and Webb, J. W. (2007). Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating competitive advantage through streams of innovation. Business horizons. Vol. 50, no. №. 1. P. 49–59.
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24. Pavlova, O. N. (2017). Ekonomika znanii [Knowledge economy.]. St-Petersburg: Universitet ITMO. 123 p. (In Russ.).
25. Coccia, M. (2017). Sources of technological innovation: Radical and incremental innovation problem-driven to support competitive advantage of firms. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management. Vol. 29, no. 9. P. 1048–1061.
26. Verhoeven, D., Bakker, J. and Veugelers, R. (2016). Measuring technological novelty with patent-based indicators. Research policy. Vol. 45, no. 3. P. 707–723.
27. Linton, J. D. (2009). De-babelizing the language of innovation. Technovation. Vol. 29. no. 11. P. 729–737.
28. Therrien, P., Doloreux, D. and Chamberlin, T. (2011). Innovation novelty and (commercial) performance in the service sector: A Canadian firm-level analysis. Technovation. Vol. 31, no. 12. P. 655–665.
29. Deffains-Crapsky, C. and Sudolska, A. (2014). Radical innovation and early stage financing gaps: equity-based crowdfunding challenges. Journal of Positive Management. Vol. 5, no. 2. P. 3–19.
30. Aghion P., A Bergeaud and J. Van Reenen (2021), The Impact of Regulation on Innovation, CEPR Press Discussion Paper No. 28381. 74 p.
31. Witt, U. (2016). Propositions about novelty. Rethinking Economic Evolution. Edward Elgar Publishing. P. 105–114.
32. Domnich E. L. (2020). Tekhnologicheskie innovatsii v ekonomike regionov Rossii: mify i fakty [Technological innovations in the economy of Russian regions: myths and facts]. In: Novaya aziatskaya politika i razvitie Dal’nego Vostoka Rossii: Materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii, Khabarovsk, 04–05 dekabrya 2019 goda [New Asian Policy and Development of the Russian Far East: Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, Khabarovsk, December 04–05, 2019]. Ed. by P. A. Minakir. Khabarovsk: Institut ekonomicheskikh issledovanii Dal’nevostochnogo otdeleniya RAN. P. 92–95. (In Russ.).
33. Timurshina, V. R. and Tretyakova, E. A. (2018). Analysis of foreign economic activity of the Perm region. Vestnik Prikamskogo sotsial’nogo instituta. No. 2 (80). P. 130–139. (In Russ.).
34. Samovoleva, S. A. (2021). Innovation in export and absorption of foreign knowledge. Economics and Mathematical Methods. Vol. 57, no. 2. P. 21–33. (In Russ.).
35. Fagerberg, J. and Verspagen, B. (2009). Innovation studies – The emerging structure of a new scientific field. Research policy. Vol. 38, no. 2. P. 218–233.
36. Edwards-Schachter, M. (2018). The nature and variety of innovation. International Journal of Innovation Studies. Vol. 2, no. 2. P. 65–79.
Article
Received: 15.10.2022
Accepted: 26.12.2022
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Samovoleva, S. A. (2022). Radical and Incremental Innovations: Difficulties in Definition and Differentiation. Science Management: Theory and Practice, 4(4), 117-134. https://doi.org/10.19181/smtp.2022.4.4.7
Section
Problems of Innovation Development
