DIFFUSION: CONSUMERS AND INNOVATION

Diffusion: Consumers and Innovation

Diffusion: Consumers and Innovation

Role of government in the innovation process

Government has always supported the innovation and development of the technology. The government has always taken its interest in promoting technological advancements related to defence so that they can save the state from possible external threats (Elliot 2010, 82). The government of United Kingdom took actions regarding climate change. There are a number of ways in which government can support the development of new technologies. For instance, they can form policies and reduce taxes and subsidize to promote environmental friendly technologies. Moreover, the launch of market transformation program is another example of the support of government for the latest technology (Elliot 2010, 84).The government of UK devised the policy to reduce the rate of emission of carbon by 20% by 2010 and 60% by 2050. The government of UK has granted funds to undertake the process of research related to renewable energy usage.

Most analysts and critics believe that government can play a potent role by formulating open innovation network. This innovation network would make the research available for different entities to get benefit form the research.

Problem of pick winners in the innovation field

In the development of new and innovative technology, a lot of funds are required that is why government and corporate entities tries to select pick winners (Elliot 2010, 97). The problem associated with the pick winners is that these decisions are usually taken in urgency which ignores various other fields in which technological advancements are needed. This problem related to pick winners can be ignored by not taking part in the early stages of innovation. One way in which government can ignore the problems in picking up the winners is to maintain a proper database related to the performance of the pick winners.

For instance, this problem is most occurred in the field of wind power. In 1973, the department of Energy of UK concluded, in Energy paper 21, that: “Although aero-generators might be considered economic on certain hill sites .... A clear economic case cannot be made for a program large enough to make a significant contribution to the nation's energy supply (Elliot 2010, 98)”.

Assessing the merits of new technologies and the use of the learning curve

With the aid of the learning curve, analysis of the trends of the economic development is done. Learning curve shows the performance of the technology advancement in the market also traces its performance and development as the market expands. This analysis ensures successful implementation of the projects. Learning curve indicates the point where the market begins to expand, and possible developments can be undertaken. For instance, when Denmark implemented the project of wind turbines they made the usage of the learning curve (Elliot 2010, 107).

Learning curve made them realized that when the project was implemented there was a fall in price of electricity generation. However, there was a slightly lower rate of price reduction when the usage of this system increased (Gross, Leach ...