Technological Shift: As Related to Technological Learning and Technological Change

Robinson, J.M. (1979). Technological Shift: As Related to Technological Learning and Technological Change. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-79-106

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Abstract

It is shown using a simple dynamic model of competition between product lines that the shape of learning curves has a powerful influence on the dynamics of technological substitution. Learning of both production efficiency and marketing efficiency are considered. It is asserted that both types of learning are important and that the two are complementary. It is further speculated that production learning is probably more important for commodities and in situations of low per capita income while market learning gains ascendancy in cases of high income and specialized and diversified product lines. In closing, it is noted that simple competitive models are misleading, firstly because complementarities and coevolutionary processes are probably as important in the overall development of technology as are competitive processes, and secondly because optimization of the technological system's parts does not guarantee improvement of the performance of the system as a whole.

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