Despite a substantial body of research investigating the market significance of inventions by independent inventors, relatively little attention has been devoted to understanding their technological significance. A recent study conducted by [Dahlin, K., Taylor, M., Fichman, M., 2004. Today's...

According to the Great-Man Theory, the creation of something new used to be accredited solely to one outstanding individual: the champion. This prevailing notion in Anglo-American research was first challenged by Witte (1973), who concluded that an innovation cannot be a one-man decision, since...