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Rethinking Invention: Cognition and the Economics of Technological Creativity

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  • Gary B. Magee

Abstract

Economists have typically not devoted much attention to the act of invention. This paper attempts to redress this situation by exploring a form of cognition, analogical transfer, which is thought by some researchers to lie at the heart of successful creativity. An analogical transfer is said to have occurred when information and experiences from one known situation is retrieved and utilized in the search for the solution to an entirely different situation. This paper shows how such analogical thought can give rise to a theoretical framework, in which disparate factors pertaining to technological creativity can be pieced together to yield an explanation of the level of inventive output experienced.

Suggested Citation

  • Gary B. Magee, 2002. "Rethinking Invention: Cognition and the Economics of Technological Creativity," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 861, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:mlb:wpaper:861
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Grebel, 2011. "Innovation and Health," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14375.
    2. C. Wickramasinghe & Nobaya Ahmad & Sharifah Rashid & Zahid Emby, 2011. "Impact of Subjective Well-Being on Success of Technological Knowledge Creation among Independent Inventors in Developing Countries: A First Look at Sri Lanka," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 2(3), pages 432-452, September.
    3. Glenn Dutcher & Cortney S. Rodet, 2022. "Which two heads are better than one? Uncovering the positive effects of diversity in creative teams," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 884-897, November.
    4. Skiba, Florian & Herstatt, Cornelius, 2008. "Integration of innovative users as source of service innovations," Working Papers 54, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Technology and Innovation Management.
    5. Jui-Kuei Chen & I.-Shuo Chen, 2012. "Creative-oriented personality, creativity improvement, and innovation level enhancement," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 46(5), pages 1625-1642, August.
    6. Peter Earl & Jason Potts, 2013. "The creative instability hypothesis," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 37(2), pages 153-173, May.
    7. Jui-Kuei Chen & I.-Shuo Chen, 2012. "Critical creativity criteria for students in higher education: taking the interrelationship effect among dimensions into account," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1057-1075, June.
    8. Corsi Christian, 2008. "Il research project management," wp.comunite 0044, Department of Communication, University of Teramo.
    9. Stephane Tywoniak & Peter Galvin & Jennifer Davies, 2007. "New Institutional Economics' contribution to strategic groups analysis," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 213-228.
    10. Grebel, Thomas, 2013. "On the tradeoff between similarity and diversity in the creation of novelty in basic science," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 66-78.
    11. Piercarlo Frigero, 2017. "Reconsidering Communication Regarding Economic Phenomena. Some Hints from a Complexity Approach," Working papers 040, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    invention; technological change; technological creativity; problem solving; learning.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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