Radical Concept Generation Inspired by Cross-Domain Knowledge

Abstract

Cross-domain knowledge can stimulate radical concept generation (RCG), but there is a lack of guidance to utilize the cross-domain knowledge for RCG. This paper proposes an effective process of RCG in four steps: (1) Identifying radical technology opportunities based on analysis of the dynamic relationship between demand and technical performances; (2) Applying laws and lines of the technological system evolution to determine the search direction of cross-domain knowledge in a qualitative perspective; (3) Taking the minimum complementary distance measure for appropriate cross-domain knowledge in a quantitative perspective; (4) Forming radical concepts using the cross-domain knowledge as inspirations. The method reduces risks and costs caused by uncertainty in RCG and has potential to fertilize research on radical innovation and knowledge-based innovation. A radical concept of gas generator demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A Method for Inspiring Radical Innovative Design Based on Cross-Domain Knowledge Mining

“…On the contrary, the introduction of cross-domain knowledge with a large TD can hinder firms' absorptive capacity due to its high novelty value, again not conducive to radical innovative design. Therefore, cross-domain knowledge at a moderate TD is relatively more conducive to facilitating radical innovative design [16].…”

“…Therefore, cross-domain knowledge at a moderate TD is relatively more conducive to fa cilitating radical innovative design [16]. In existing studies, the calculation of TD primarily relies on patent data and is carrie out using patent vectors as a basis for computation.…”

“…However, it is worth noting that not all cross-domain knowledge can inspire radical innovative designs, and further research is needed on choosing the optimal cross-domain knowledge. Some studies have introduced the concept of technological distance (TD) between firms, determining the suitability for knowledge transfer by calculating the differences in patents held by each firm [16]. This method provides a new idea to recommend appropriate cross-domain knowledge for large firms that have a large number of patents.…”

Construction and Application of Enterprise Knowledge Base for Product Innovation Design

“…Guo et al [53] proposed a method to build the functional tree based on requirement analysis, which decomposes the total functions into basic and additional functions and then decomposes them into dominant and assistant functions. Based on the law of technical system integrity, Zhang et al [54] proposed a method to build the functional tree by decomposing the total function for working, transmission, driving, and controlling.…”

Effective Identification of Technological Opportunities for Radical Inventions Using International Patent Classification: Application of Patent Data Mining

“…Radical inventions (RIs) can boost a company's market position, by improving product competitiveness in the marketplace [1]. However, companies are more inclined to carry out incremental inventions that conform to a continual process of checking with optimization [2].…”