Measuring exaptation and its impact on innovation, search, and problem solving

Exaptation, the emergence of latent functionality in existing artifacts, is an underexplored mechanism of novelty generation in innovation. In this paper, we measure the frequency of exaptation in the pharmaceutical industry. We find that about 42% of new functions derived from existing drugs have an exaptive nature. We think that this constitutes the first measure of exaptation in any industry. We also link exaptation with radical innovation and find that most radical innovations in our sample are exaptive. Also, nearly all radical innovations occur in market areas very distant from the drug’s original market. We propose that exaptive innovation constitutes a different search mechanism and problem-solving approach from deliberate innovation and discuss the role of context and serendipity in innovation

An Empirical Analysis Based on the U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry

학위논문(석사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 공과대학 협동과정 기술경영·경제·정책전공, 2021.8. 이정동.Exaptation, a series of patterns that an emergent trait or function is coopted for a current usage which is completely different from the original usage, is a crucial component of novelty generation in innovation but has been underexplored so far. A few previous studies have scrutinized and analyzed the role of exaptation and its implications qualitatively, but most merely focus on an academic debate, which leaves a research gap in the practical field. The study here thus analyzes the pattern of exaptation by measuring its frequency in the pharmaceutical industry through which ultimately captures its core driving forces as an emergent mechanism of opportunity discovery in the real world. This process allows us to quantify the overall frequency of exaptation and demonstrate its origin with regards to the dual side of spaces of the possible: applicant-oriented and artifact-oriented. We observed that about 59% of emergent functions derived from the existing drugs stem from exaptation and about 30% of FDA-approved NMEs have an inherent exaptive nature. Furthermore, we found that firms’ open innovation adoption and portfolio diversification strategy stand spaces of the possible as a powerful inducer of exaptation along with the popularity of drug classes and the initial versatility of drugs which compose the other side of spaces of the possible. Based on its unique locus regarding the emergence of innovation, we propose that exaptation is one of the undeniable key attributes in innovation that can be structurally fostered, not via serendipity itself, which leads to innovation as an ex-post way of the exploration process.기존의 것과는 전혀 다른 용도 및 기능으로 진화된 형질이 현재의 영역에서 활용되는 일련의 패턴을 뜻하는 굴절적응 (Exaptation)은 새로움의 창발 (Novelty generation)로 말미암아 혁신을 견인하는 핵심원리임에도 불구하고 여지껏 그에 상응하는 충분한 연구가 부재한 실정이다. 비록 몇 가지 선행연구를 통해 굴절적응의 역할과 함의에 대한 면밀한 조사 및 분석이 이루어졌지만, 대부분의 경우 현상의 실증보다는 개념이 갖는 학술적 논의에 오롯이 그 초점을 집중한다는 점에서 분명한 한계를 보여주고 있다. 더불어 해당 현상이 갖는 사후성에 입각하여 다소 편향된 시각에서 굴절적응의 발생을 단순히 우연한 기회 (Serendipity)로 말미암아 외생적으로 주어지는 것으로 바라보았다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 기존의 편향된 통념과 한계점에서 벗어나 보다 균형잡힌 시각에서 굴절적응을 재조명하고자 한다. 이에 제약산업을 활용하여 굴절적응의 빈도를 측정하고 그 동인을 정량적으로 분석함으로써, 현실세계에서 혁신 창발의 핵심원리로서 굴절적응이 갖는 영향력을 실증하였다. 더불어 가능성의 공간 (Spaces of the possible)을 이루는 두 가지 핵심요소에 주목하여 굴절적응의 동인을 기업과 인공물로 각각 이분화함으로써 그 발생을 구조적으로 견인할 수 있는 현실적인 대안을 제시하였다. 분석 결과 FDA 승인 이후 신약이 획득한 새로운 용도 (Off-label usage) 중 약 59%가 굴절적응으로부터 기인한 것으로 나타났고, 전체 신약의 30%에서 굴절적응이 발생한 것을 확인하였다. 덧붙여 기업의 개방형 혁신 전략과 포트폴리오 다각화 전략을 통해 굴절적응의 발생을 구조적으로 유도할 수 있음을 확인하였다.Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 Chapter 2. Literature Review 5 2.1 Exaptation 5 2.2 Spaces of the possible 9 2.3 Open Innovation 13 2.4 Research Question 17 Chapter 3. Measuring the Frequency of Exaptation 19 3.1 The Pharmaceutical Industry 19 3.2 Empirical Setting 20 3.2.1 Sample 20 3.2.2 Measurement 21 3.3 Results 26 Chapter 4. Identifying the Origin of Exaptation and Capturing its Driving Force 34 4.1 Hypothesis 34 4.1.1 Applicant-oriented Exaptation 34 4.1.2 Artifact-oriented Exaptation 38 4.2 Empirical Setting 40 4.2.1 Variables 40 4.2.2 Methodology 43 4.2.3 Correlations 44 4.3 Results 46 4.3.1 Applicant-oriented Exaptation 48 4.3.2 Artifact-oriented Exaptation 50 4.4 Robustness for Model 53 Chapter 5. Conclusions 54 5.1 Summary 54 5.2 Implication 55 5.2.1 Managerial Implication 56 5.3 Limitation & Future Study 57 Bibliography 58 Appendix 71 Abstract (Korean) 91석

Hunting Darwins Counterpart: Tracing the Exaptation Phenomenon in IS Research

The repurposing of problem-solving artifacts is an efficient way to innovate. Originating in evolutional theory, exaptation – the repurposing of an existing trait – gained recently attention in IS research due to the generative and malleable characteristics of digital technologies. Notwithstanding, research on this theoretical construct in IS research is scarce, while the innovation and economics literature already adapted the theory to, e.g., explain and predict disruptive market behaviors. With a scoping literature review, this paper pursues to draw a comprehensive picture of the current state of research of exaptation in IS research. Through an analysis of 46 publications, we could structure the field, derive three valuable contributions for the general exaptation theory and outline a future research agenda provide orientation and inspiration for further exaptation research in the digital and organizational context

Business Model Innovation and exaptation: a new way of innovating in SMEs

Although research underlines the need for SMEs to innovate their Business Model, they face considerable challenges in exploring external business opportunities and experimenting/developing their available resources in unexpected ways. We posit that one way that SMEs can innovate their Business Model is through exaptation, a discontinuous evolutionary process that allows utilizing and adapting existing resources in new application domains. Using a case study approach, we investigate the case of a SME that has successfully innovated its Business Model through exaptation. We then discuss how three key exaptation processes lead to value creation, delivery and capturing, thus supporting Business Model Innovation in SMEs

Managing Disruptive Innovation: Entrepreneurial Strategies and Tournaments for Corporate Longevity

Extant research on disruptive innovation has implicitly incorporated entrepreneurship as the underlying driver of the disruptive phenomenon. We integrate recent developments from entrepreneurship and innovation research streams to better understand the conditions and causal mechanisms that influence disruptive innovation. Drawing on effectuation, evolutionary entrepreneurship, lead-users, collective intelligence, and opportunity tournament literature, we develop a theoretical framework that explains disruptive innovation as a co-evolutionary entrepreneurial process at the firm, product, and customer level. The framework offers a set of testable propositions to advance theory and practice in the field. We suggest avenues for future research and conclude entrepreneurial strategies to help general managers create and cope with disruptive innovation

Essays on the co-evolution between strategies and technologies

Sensitivity, Innovation Attitudes, and Perseverance as the Strategic Foundations of Exaptation. Functions, Modular Architectures, and Technological Evolvability. A Generalized NK-Framework to Study the Co-Evolution Between Industry Dynamics and Artefact’s Architecture. Local Technological Evolution & University-Industry Collaboration