The Architecture of Innovation

8

Improving the Design

AFTER WORKING THROUGH both corporate and venture-funded R&D, we could reasonably conclude that the two areas are each ideal in their own way. Although each has its weaknesses and drawbacks, each has also demonstrated successes; their continuing roles in the economy cannot help but impress. While neither model is perfect, they seem better than the alternatives.

But there are some powerful reasons for thinking that other alternatives might exist. The past several decades have seen numerous changes in the nature of emerging technologies and the ways that innovation is pursued, mostly associated with the widespread dissemination of the Internet and the explosion in computing power. This fact alone might lead us to wonder whether ...