CFU: 6

Year: I

Instructor: Mauro Lombardi

The digital age we are living in: the second economy (Arthur), ubicomp (ubiquitous computing), "calm technology" (Weiser, 1991, 1993). The age of the spiritual machine (Kurzweil): what technology is. The starting point: the invention of invention (Landes, 1998). Technology and the Economy: some stylized facts. Taxonomy of innovations: radical, incremental, modular, architectural. Technological paradigms, technological trajectories, techno-economic landscapes. Different approaches to the analysis of production processes. Innovation processes between path dependence and path creation. Decision making processes: 1) standard mainstream paradigm, 2) evolutionary approach, the agents of techno-economic dynamics: individuals, firms, socio-technical systems. Basic concepts for the current Century (I): systems and complex systems. Basic concepts for the current Century (II): disruptive technologies, big data and data analytics, augmented reality, cloud computing and their consequences for business models.

Brian Arthur, 2009, The Nature of Technology, Free PressChandler.

Hagstrom, Solvell, 1999, The dynamic firm. The role of technology, strategy, organization, and regions, Oxford University.

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