In technology and economics, experts usually distinguish between 'invention' and 'innovation' by contrasting the new as a mere singularity, with newness as a spreading phenomenon that changes entire fields of practice. When German engineer Thomas Diesel imagined at the end of the 19th century an engine in which ignition was triggered by pressure, he was not yet facing an innovation, but an invention the fate of which was not yet decided.1 Despite their ingenuity, many inventions do not diffuse for reasons such as technical limitations, socio-economic and cultural obstacles. From Thomas Alva Edison's electric lighting to Malcolm McLean's containers and their special cranes and ships, innovation possesses a systemic character that involves solving multiple compatibility issues within the technology itself, developing an appropriate business model, and finding support among broad constituencies.
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