The Linear Model of Innovation: The Historical Construction of an Analytical Framework
One of the first (theoretical) frameworks developed in history for understanding science and technology and its relation to the economy has been the linear model of innovation. The model postulated that innovation starts with basic research, followed by applied research and development, and ends with production and diffusion.
The precise source of the linear model remains nebulous, having never been documented. Several authors who have used, improved or criticized the model in the last fifty years rarely acknowledged or cited any original source. The model was usually taken for granted. According to others, however, it comes directly from V. Bush’s Science: The Endless Frontier (1945).
This paper traces the history of the linear model, suggesting that it developed in three steps, corresponding to as many scientific communities looking at science from an analytical point of view. The paper argues that statistics is one of the main reasons explaining why the model is still alive, despite criticisms, alternatives, and having been proclaimed dead.