Table 1. Open in new tab Types of...

Type of process

Role

Mutational processes

Processes that generate variation in products, processes, technologies, firms, institutions, involving creation of new forms and destruction of old forms. This essentially is the ‘creative destruction’ described by Schumpeter.

Constraining processes

Processes that restrict the kinds of variation that are possible or likely. These might include economic factors (such as sunk capital), technological lock-in, a poorly developed entrepreneurial culture, lack of finance, regulatory restrictions, and the like.

Structure-changing processes

Processes operate to select different products, technologies, and firms, such as market competition, trade arrangements, monopolistic and oligopolistic power, regulatory systems, etc.

Adaptive processes

Processes and factors that influence the interaction and ‘fit’ of firms, with their changing competitive environments, including firm competencies, workforce skills, etc.

Rate determining processes

Affect the rate of evolutionary change (mutation, adaptation).

Direction-determining processes

Affect the direction of evolutionary change, such as major advances, shifts and breakthroughs in technology, regulatory and other policies.

Emergence processes

Processes and structures that emerge from but are not simply reducible to lower-level entities and their interactions, including localised external economies of various kinds, and which can exert ‘downward causation’ on lower-level entities.

Evolvability processes

The evolutionary potential of economic entities (for example, firms, regions) linked to the internal resources and external linkages of those entities.

Table 1.

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Types of processes and mechanisms of economic evolution.

Type of process	Role
Mutational processes	Processes that generate variation in products, processes, technologies, firms, institutions, involving creation of new forms and destruction of old forms. This essentially is the ‘creative destruction’ described by Schumpeter.
Constraining processes	Processes that restrict the kinds of variation that are possible or likely. These might include economic factors (such as sunk capital), technological lock-in, a poorly developed entrepreneurial culture, lack of finance, regulatory restrictions, and the like.
Structure-changing processes	Processes operate to select different products, technologies, and firms, such as market competition, trade arrangements, monopolistic and oligopolistic power, regulatory systems, etc.
Adaptive processes	Processes and factors that influence the interaction and ‘fit’ of firms, with their changing competitive environments, including firm competencies, workforce skills, etc.
Rate determining processes	Affect the rate of evolutionary change (mutation, adaptation).
Direction-determining processes	Affect the direction of evolutionary change, such as major advances, shifts and breakthroughs in technology, regulatory and other policies.
Emergence processes	Processes and structures that emerge from but are not simply reducible to lower-level entities and their interactions, including localised external economies of various kinds, and which can exert ‘downward causation’ on lower-level entities.
Evolvability processes	The evolutionary potential of economic entities (for example, firms, regions) linked to the internal resources and external linkages of those entities.

Type of process	Role
Mutational processes	Processes that generate variation in products, processes, technologies, firms, institutions, involving creation of new forms and destruction of old forms. This essentially is the ‘creative destruction’ described by Schumpeter.
Constraining processes	Processes that restrict the kinds of variation that are possible or likely. These might include economic factors (such as sunk capital), technological lock-in, a poorly developed entrepreneurial culture, lack of finance, regulatory restrictions, and the like.
Structure-changing processes	Processes operate to select different products, technologies, and firms, such as market competition, trade arrangements, monopolistic and oligopolistic power, regulatory systems, etc.
Adaptive processes	Processes and factors that influence the interaction and ‘fit’ of firms, with their changing competitive environments, including firm competencies, workforce skills, etc.
Rate determining processes	Affect the rate of evolutionary change (mutation, adaptation).
Direction-determining processes	Affect the direction of evolutionary change, such as major advances, shifts and breakthroughs in technology, regulatory and other policies.
Emergence processes	Processes and structures that emerge from but are not simply reducible to lower-level entities and their interactions, including localised external economies of various kinds, and which can exert ‘downward causation’ on lower-level entities.
Evolvability processes	The evolutionary potential of economic entities (for example, firms, regions) linked to the internal resources and external linkages of those entities.

Adapted from: Endler and McLellan (1988) and Metcalfe (1998).

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