The economic implications of exaptation

Abstract

Abstract. Accounts of economic change recognize that markets create selective pressures for the adaptation of technologies in the direction of customer needs and production efficiencies. However, non-adaptational bases for technological change are rarely highlighted, despite their pervasiveness in the history of technical and economic change. In this paper the concept of exaptation -a feature co-opted for its present role from some other origin -is proposed as a characteristic element of technological change, and an important mechanism by which new markets for products and services are created by entrepreneurs. Exaptation is a missing but central concept linking the evolution of technology with the entrepreneurial creation of new markets and the concept of Knightian uncertainty.

On the entrepreneurial genesis of new markets: effectual transformations versus causal search and selection

“…For example, a world in which exaptations are admitted changes the pathways of evolution, because exaptations are technologically "free", i.e. they differ in significant ways in terms of innovative effort, uncertainties and costs compared to adaptive innovation programs that are targeted at preexisting or preconceived markets (Dew et al 2004). This changes the predictions of models of resources allocated to innovation.…”

“…Exaptation transforms resources by converting them from established uses (things they were designed for) to new uses (things they weren't designed for). Aspirin is a well-known example of exaptation (Dew et al 2004). Another example is Riverdale Mills "Aquamesh" lobster traps, made from plastic-dipped galvanized wire mesh.…”

Antecedents and consequences of effectuation and causation in the international new venture creation process

“…Effectuation theory has been applied in fields such as management (Augier and Sarasvathy 2004), economics (Dew et al 2004), finance ), marketing (Read et al 2009a), and R&D management (Brettel et al 2012). Effectuation theory may also be particularly suitable as a building block for internationalization theory, as internationalization can also be framed as a decision-making problem under uncertainty (Jones and Coviello 2005;Schweizer et al 2010).…”

Acquisitions As Exaptation: The Legacy of Founding Institutions in the U.S. Commercial Banking Industry

“…Exaptation emphasizes that certain features developed as adaptive responses to initial environmental conditions can be well suited for some new purposes after environmental changes (Dew et al, 2004;Gould, 1991). The concept provides a particularly useful tool that can guide understanding of how founding institutions imprint organizations, in that although external environments change, organizational behaviors may enact adaptive responses to those changes in a way that reflects the organizations' founding conditions.…”

“…For example, the bladder that fish developed initially for buoyancy during swimming subsequently became usable as a lung, allowing animals to breathe on land. Similarly, the compact disc, originally conceived as a more durable replacement for vinyl phonograph records, subsequently became used as a data storage medium for computers (Dew, Sarasvathy, & Venkataraman, 2004). We find that imprinted capabilities originally developed for bank branch management became useful for a new purpose-bank acquisition management and integration-after an environmental shift.…”