Science and Industry: A Theory of Networks and Paradigms (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Excerpt from Science and Industry: A Theory of Networks and Paradigms

Contrary to scientific activity, industries are classified for purposes of national statistics. Scientific specialty classifications, as discussed previously, are input oriented. Industrial classifications, on the contrary, are mostly output-oriented. According to the majority of theorists in industrial economics, these classifications are highly imperfect (wijnberg, In theory, the industry consists of those enterprises who are in competition (boyer, 1984) and who form a network of structurally equivalent actors (burt, As will be discussed further below, many similarities exist between networks of scientists and networks of enterprises. Moreover, it will be argued that different types of networks, as they evolve as the technology matures from a body of knowledge rooted in scientific theory and technological practice ('input-orientation') to commercial 'hardware' ('output-orientation') can be used to illustrate the paradigm-shift which occurs during this process.

The modern popularity of the term paradigm started with Kuhn's alternative (1970) to strict Popperian falsification in which theories develop gradually and steadily into better theories. Kuhn considered the growth of science to consist of relatively long periods of 'normal science,' operating within the confines of a specific 'scientific paradigm,' alternating with 'scientific revolutions,' propelling new paradigms to the forefront. However, Kuhn's use of the paradigm concept was, at least, ambiguous. Its contents ranged from actual experiments, theories or artifacts serving as guidelines to all scientists in a certain field to a complete set of search heuristics to identify problems, to guide problem-solving, and to express and to evaluate results.

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Science and Industry: A Theory of Networks and Paradigms

The recent interest in 'network' forms of organization serves as a starting point to better understand the dynamic characteristics of technology development. Network theory allows one to describe the relations between 'actors' involved in the development of new technologies both cross-sectionally and longitudinally and, as a consequence, to model the structural and behavioral development of a community of actors (regardless whether this 'community' is defined as a set of individuals, e.g. the 'scientific' community, or whether it is defined as a collection of organizations, e.g. an industry). In this paper, this network approach is used to develop a theoretical framework to understand the knowledge transition from 'scientific' paradigm status to a 'technological' paradigm status. It is believed that the propositions made in this paper will enable truly empirical studies on the nature of the development of 'scientific' and 'technological' paradigms.

This paper attempts to link science and economics at two different levels. First of all, the relations between the development of a scientific field and the body of knowledge applied in an industrial environment will be studied. Second, we demonstrate how certain concepts and models used to describe industrial change can be successfully applied to scientific change and vice versa. On the one hand, we will focus on the differences between industrial and non-industrial research. On the other hand, we will stress the similarities which appear in the development of a scientific field and an industry. To prevent unnecessary causes for ambiguity and debate we will not speak of science and technology (e.g. Kroes, 1989; Richards, 1987; Weingart, 1978) but of industrial and non-industrial science or research.

Two concepts are crucial to the line of inquiry we will pursue: networks and paradigms. Both scientists and enterprises form 'networks.' Paradigms can be used to describe the developments of these networks. Dosi (1982) introduced the concept of the technological paradigm. In this paper we argue that it may be appropriate to define these technological paradigms as industry-specific. They represent an implicit agreement between producers and consumers/users about the nature of the product or the service to be delivered.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.