Technology Path Way: Reframing with a New Perspective
摘要
The product life cycle has long been cited as a concept explaining the cycle of birth and extinction of products and technologies. However, according to our observation over patents and research papers, a technology after its inception did not extinct even though its original product faded out, but is often used or cited by other industries or research. To explain this phenomenon, this study proposes a concept of Technology Pathway instead of the Product Life Cycle. This study focuses on the characteristics of technology (multipurpose and transferability) as the factor that allows technologies to survive and grow even after its original product disappeared. To illustrate Technology Path Way, examined in detail are technologies used in the battery, printing, and memory industries.