ITPEC FE Morning October 2020 Question 70
In a process that aims to produce ideal technology, technology follows an evolutionary process that progresses from the introduction stage, growth stage, maturity stage, decline stage. Then it transitions to the next technological phase. Which of the following is used to represent this technological evolution process?
Explanation
Technology S-curve — performance grows slowly, then fast, then levels off, and a successor technology takes over on a curve of its own.
Plotted against time or the effort invested, a technology's performance traces an S: slow progress in the introduction stage, rapid improvement in the growth stage, a plateau at maturity as it nears its physical limits, then decline. The next technology starts its own S-curve, and the jump from one curve to the next is what firms must anticipate when they plan R&D.
Answer (d)
Why not others:
- •(a) Bathtub curve — the failure rate over a product's life: early failures, a flat period of random failures, then wear-out failures
- •(b) Demand curve — how the quantity demanded changes with price
- •(c) Learning curve — unit cost or time falling as cumulative output and experience grow
Key rule: An S-curve tracks one technology from introduction to decline and hands over to the next technology's curve; the bathtub curve tracks failures and the learning curve tracks cost with experience.
Technological Strategy Management · AI-written, may contain errors
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