Title: Insight innovation dynamics of the typewriter industry

Authors: Ping Lan

Addresses: School of Management, University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 756080, Fairbanks, AK 99775-6080, USA

Abstract: This research employs a concept of 'innovation trinity' - a common denominator of innovation consisting of three types of innovations: functionality, delivery and relationship innovation - to trace the dynamics of innovation in the typewriter industry. It reveals that about a century's existence of the typewriter industry, from the creation to the final fading out, could be described by a full seven-stage innovation chain with two sustaining loops. The presented dynamics of the typewriter industry challenges the traditional concepts on dominant design and stages of an innovation life cycle and offers a venue for further exploring the vigour of innovation.

Keywords: innovation dynamics; typewriter industry; innovation life cycle; dominant design; sustaining loops; functionality innovation; delivery innovation; relationship innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2013.056744

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2013 Vol.7 No.6, pp.730 - 751

Published online: 27 Dec 2013 *

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