On User Needs and Need Determination: Aspects of the Theory of Technological Innovation

Technological innovation, like the activity of production, may be regarded as induced by human needs, but unlike it these needs are frequently not represented by an unambiguous and well-defined market or demand curve. Innovations generally involve a new product component and in so far as this is so they precede the generation of markets and demand curves. They should accordingly be regarded as responses to more general, less defined needs than those expressible in terms of well-defined markets or demand.