A metric to characterize major innovation sequences and its application in three industrial sectors: from random emergence to waterfall phenomena

Are Major innovations rare or frequent? Is there any relationship between major innovations? Do major innovations occur independently of the others? In order to answer these questions, we build a new tool of measuring major innovations sequences, based on Lancaster's approach to consumer theory. This new tool allows us to characterize major innovation sequences and its application in three industrial sectors (Mobile phone, Iron, Automobile). The main results of our empirical work show that Major Innovations (MI) are not rare and reveal the existence of a relationship - with a chain reaction effect- between successive major innovations. This article treats especially major innovations and it focuses on characterizing the sequences and the increasing rhythm of major innovations.

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