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The Linear Model of Innovation: The Historical Construction of an Analytical Framework

Item

Title
The Linear Model of Innovation: The Historical Construction of an Analytical Framework
Abstract/Description
One of the first (conceptual) frameworks developed for understanding the relation of science and technology to the economy has been the linear model of innovation. The model postulated that innovation starts with basic research, is followed by applied research and development, and ends with production and diffusion. The precise source of the model remains nebulous, having never been documented. Several authors who have used, improved, or criticized the model in the past fifty years rarely acknowledged or cited any original source. The model usually was taken for granted. According to others, however, it comes directly from V. Bush’s Science: The Endless Frontier ([1945] 1995). This article traces the history of the linear model, suggesting that it developed in three steps corresponding to three scientific communities looking at science analytically. The article argues that statistics is a main reason the model is still alive despite criticisms, alternatives, and having been proclaimed dead.
Author/creator
Godin, Benoît
Date
2006
In publication
Science, Technology, & Human Values
Volume
31
Issue
6
Pages
639-667
Resource type
en Background/Context
Medium
en Print
Background/context type
en Historical
en Conceptual
Keywords
innovation
statistics
basic research
linear model of innovation
science policy
Open access/free-text available
en Yes
Peer reviewed
en Yes
Language
en
ISSN
0162-2439
DOI
10.1177/0162243906291865
URL
Official Publisher's Webpage (SAGE Journals)
Full-text PDF Shared by Author (Benoît Godin)
Citation
Godin, B. (2006). The Linear Model of Innovation: The Historical Construction of an Analytical Framework. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 31(6), 639–667. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243906291865
Cited in
The Policy Context of United States Educational Innovation and Improvement
Resource status/form
en Published Text
Scholarship genre
en Theoretical
en Historical
Abbreviation
Science, Technology, & Human Values
Item sets
Oxford Bibliography: The Policy Context of United States Educational Innovation and Improvement

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