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ECONOMIC THINKING: A way of looking at, and analyzing, the way the world works by comparing the costs of an action with the benefits generated. Economic thinking arises from scarcity, which exists because wants and needs and unlimited but resources are limited. This means virtually all actions incur an opportunity cost. Identifying the cost of an action, no matter how hidden or subtle it may be, is the essence of economic thinking.
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                           PRODUCT INNOVATION: An innovation of a new product, technology, or idea that generates a beneficial improvement in society and the economy; one that is fundamentally different from existing products, technologies, or ideas. The contrast is with a process innovation, which is an improvement in an existing product, technology, or idea. A product innovation is the process of developing and making available a new good, service, production technique, idea, concept, scientific theory, law, business, cultural norm, social organization, or government agency that is substantially different from, and an improvement over, what currently exists. The "product" in question need not be a tangible "good" that is exchanged through a market, but includes a wide range of "things" that result in a change in the status quo and a modification of the existing institutions that form the structure of society and the economy.A related concept is process innovation, which is a (usually) moderate alteration of an existing product or how an existing product is produced. The line between product and process innovation is not always clear cut. In some cases an existing product can experience so many process innovations that it actually becomes a new product. A product innovation might lead to major changes in the very fabric of society or might just make one small aspect of life a little bit easier. Product innovations falling in the major category include the Gutenberg printing press, the electric light bulb, the automobile, and the personal computer. Modern society would be substantially different without these innovations. The minor side of product innovations includes such things as the battery powered drill driver, the electric can opener, the stapler, and the ballpoint pen. Each is useful. Each is an improvement. Each has made life a little easier. But none are indispensable. Life would likely exist much as it is now in the absence of this product innovations. Of course product innovations go beyond typical, tangible "goods." The U.S. Constitution is a notable product innovation that goes beyond the "typical." Another is Christianity. Drive-in movies, popular in the 50s and 60s, are a third among many.
Recommended Citation:PRODUCT INNOVATION, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2026. [Accessed: August 16, 2026].
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BEIGE MUNDORTLE
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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time wandering around the shopping mall trying to buy either a how-to book on home remodeling or a tall storage cabinet with five shelves and a secure lock. Be on the lookout for telephone calls from former employers.
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One of the largest markets for gold in the United States is the manufacturing of class rings.
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"If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent. " -- Isaac Newton, mathematician, physicist
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NTB
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