A Theory of the Evolution of Technology : Technological Parasitism and the Implications for Innovation Management

This study proposes the theory of technological parasitism that may be useful for bringing a new perspective to explain and generalize the evolution of technology directed to sustain competitive advantage of firms and nations. Technological parasitism explains the relationship of mutualistic symbiosis between a host (or master) technology and inter-related technologies to satisfy needs and/or to solve consequential problems of socioeconomic subjects. To explore the potential of adopting a theory of technological parasitism and to predict which technologies are likeliest to evolve rapidly, this study implements a theoretical test based on a computational agent-based model developed from these concepts and empirical test based on historical data on the evolution of four example technologies (aircraft, tractor, locomotive and bicycle technology). Computational and empirical evidence are broadly consistent with the theoretical expectation that host (or master) technologies with many associated parasitic technologies advance rapidly, whereas master technologies with fewer parasitic technologies improve slowly. The finding of this study could aid management of firms and innovation strategy of nations to design best practices of product/process design and development for supporting R&D of technologies that are likely to evolve rapidly. Overall, then, this study, for the first time to our knowledge, begins the process of clarifying and generalizing, as far as possible, the role of long-run coevolution between technologies in complex systems with fruitful implications for innovation management. The proposed theoretical framework here also lays a foundation for the development of more sophisticated concepts and theoretical frameworks to explain technological and industrial change in economic systems