Markus Reitzig and Olav Sorenson In contrast to prior studies, which have generally argued that the failure of innovations to diffuse within an organization stems from informational or motivational difficulties, we propose that the failure to adopt an innovation can also arise from a form of organizational provincialism. Individuals identify with their subunits within the [...]

Lee Fleming and Olav Sorenson A large body of work argues that scientific research increases the rate of technological advance, and with it economic growth. The precise mechanism through which science accelerates the rate of invention, however, remains an open question. Conceptualizing invention as a combinatorial search process, this paper argues that science alters inventors’ [...]

Lee Fleming and Olav Sorenson Some companies are better off making incremental improvements to their products. Others that must compete on their ability to innovate focus on breakthrough inventions. Either approach requires the exploration of a specific type of ‘technology landscape’ and the right strategy for searching across the terrain. MIT Sloan Management Review, Winter [...]

Lee Fleming and Olav Sorenson By placing a premium on predictability in their product development efforts, companies create a technology landscape that’s easier to navigate–-but one that may produce fewer true breakthroughs. Harvard Business Review, September 2001: 2-3

Lee Fleming and Olav Sorenson This paper develops a theory of invention by drawing on complex adaptive systems theory. We see invention as a process of recombinant search over technology landscapes. This framing suggests that inventors might face a ‘complexity catastrophe’ when they attempt to combine highly interdependent technologies. Our empirical analysis of patent citation [...]