Abstract
This paper considers the alternative meanings attributed to the terms product and process innovation, and demonstrates, on the basis of the SPRU database on innovations in Great Britain, how the total number of product and process innovations varies according to the definition adopted. Only 3.1% of the innovations monitored can be univocally labelled as either products or processes, whilst as many as 96.9% of them fall into a grey zone. The authors conclude that these terms, although useful tools of analysis, should be defined more precisely in the studies of the economics of technological change.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. A. Schumpeter,The Theory of Economic Development, English translation, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1934, Original German edition 1911.
M. Blaug, A survey of the theory of process innovations,Economica, 30 (1963) 13–32, p. 13.
J. Townsend et al.,Science and Technology Indicators for the UK. Innovation in Britain since 1945, SPRU Occasional Paper no. 16, SPRU, University of Sussex, Brighton, 1981.
C. Freeman, L. Soete, J. Townsend (Ed.),Fluctuations in the Numbers of Product and Process Innovations 1920–1980, OECD, Paris, 1982.
J. Utterback, W. Abernathy, A dynamic model of process and product innovation,Omega, 3 (1975) 639–656.
C. Freeman, L. Soete (Eds),Technical Change and Full Employment, Blackwell, Oxford, 1987.
Y. S. Katsoulacos, Product innovation and employment,European Economic Review, 26 (1984) 83–108.
S. Hollander,The Sources of Increased Efficiency: a Study of Du Pont Rayon Plants The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1965.
E. Mansfield, M. Schwartz, S. Wagner, Imitation costs and patents: An empirical study,Economic Journal, 91 (1981) 907–918.
R. Levin, A. Klevorick, R. Nelson, S. Winter, Appropriating the returns from industrial research and development,Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 3 (1987) 783–831.
R. Simonetti,The Definition of Product-Innovation and Process-Innovation, MSc dissertation, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, Brighton, 1991.
F. M. Scherer, Demand pull and technological invention: Schmookler revisited.The Journal of Industrial Economics 30 (1982a) 225–237.
J. Lunn, An empirical analysis of process and product patenting: A simultaneous equation framework,The Journal of Industrial Economics, 34 (1986) 319–329.
F. M. Scherer, Inter-industry technology flows in the United States,Research Policy, 11 (1982b) 227–245.
K. Pavitt, Sectoral patterns of technical change: Towards a taxonomy and a theory,Research Policy, 13 (1984) 343–373.
M. Robson, K. Pavitt, J. Townsend, Sectoral patterns of production and use of innovations in the UK: 1945–1983,Research Policy, 17 (1988) 1–14.
D. Archibugi In search of a useful measure of technological innovation,Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 34 (1988) 253–277.
C. DeBresson, J. Townsend, Notes on the inter-industrial flow of technology in post-war Britain,Research Policy, 8 (1978) 48–60.
R. Simonetti,Flussi tecnologici intersettorial in Italia. Un'analisi su dati brevettuali, Laurea thesis, University ‘La Sapienza’, Rome, 1989.
D. Archibugi,The Sectoral Structure of Innovative Activities in Italy. Results and Methodology, D. Phil. Dissertation, University of Sussex, Brighton, 1989, pp. 33–38.
M. Trajtenberg,Economic Analysis of Product Innovation, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1991.
J. Lunn, An empirical analysis of firm process and product patenting,Applied Economics, 19 (1987) 743–751.
L. Kraft, Are product- and process-innovations independent of each other?,Applied Economics, 22 (1990) 1029–1038.
D. Archibugi, S. Cesaratto, G. Sirilli, Innovative activity, R&D and patenting: The evidence of the survey on innovation diffusion in Italy,Science Technology Industry Review, 1 (1987) 135–150.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Simonetti, R., Archibugi, D. & Evangelista, R. Product and process innovations: How are they defined? How are they quantified?. Scientometrics 32, 77–89 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02020190
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02020190