Google
Saturday 
April 11, 2026 

AmosWEB means Economics with a Touch of Whimsy!

AmosWEBWEB*pediaGLOSS*aramaECON*worldCLASS*portalQUIZ*tasticPED GuideXtra CrediteTutorA*PLS
SHUTDOWN RULE: A rule stating that firm minimizes economic loss by producing no output in the short run if price is less than average variable cost. In the short run, a firm incurs total fixed cost whether or not it produces any output. As such, if the market price is falls below average total cost, it must decide if the economic loss from producing the quantity of output that equates marginal revenue and marginal cost is more or less than the economic loss incurred with shutting down production in the short run (which is equal to total fixed cost).

Visit the GLOSS*arama


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.

<= PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATIONPRODUCT LIFE CYCLE =>


Recommended Citation:

PRODUCT INNOVATION, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2026. [Accessed: April 11, 2026].


Check Out These Related Terms...

     | process innovation | innovation | behavioral alternatives | managerial behavior | entrepreneurial behavior | novel information | redundant information | institution | innovation profit | technology |


Or For A Little Background...

     | market structures | market structure continuum | market control | barriers to entry | business cycles | economic profit | entrepreneurship | risk | normal profit | opportunity cost | government functions |


And For Further Study...

     | economics of information | economics of uncertainty | risk preferences | alternative business cycles | creative destruction | good types | public goods | monopoly profit | innovation and entrepreneurship |


Search Again?

Back to the WEB*pedia


APLS

BROWN PRAGMATOX
[What's This?]

Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time visiting every yard sale in a 30-mile radius hoping to buy either a cross-cut paper shredder or a birthday greeting card for your father. Be on the lookout for rusty deck screws.
Your Complete Scope

This isn't me! What am I?

Cyrus McCormick not only invented the reaper for harvesting grain, he also invented the installment payment for selling his reaper.
"He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life."

-- Victor Hugo, Writer

DBD
Declining Balance Depreciation
A PEDestrian's Guide
Xtra Credit
Tell us what you think about AmosWEB. Like what you see? Have suggestions for improvements? Let us know. Click the User Feedback link.

User Feedback



| AmosWEB | WEB*pedia | GLOSS*arama | ECON*world | CLASS*portal | QUIZ*tastic | PED Guide | Xtra Credit | eTutor | A*PLS |
| About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Statement |

Thanks for visiting AmosWEB
Copyright ©2000-2026 AmosWEB*LLC
Send comments or questions to: WebMaster