In their quest for the commonalities and differences between cities and companies, Geoffrey West and his team came across the crucial interplay between those two social structures. And from those findings, we can see that the role of cities in innovation is a lot stronger than we usually realise. A grand ideaThe heart of the matter is superlinear … Continue reading Cities, companies, and innovation – Accelerate!
The work of Geoffrey West and his team is truly fascinating. In their cross-disciplinary research on complex adaptive systems, they looked for common underlying principles that could be applicable to biological systems and social systems alike. Of course I'm particularly interested in West's observations on social systems like cities and companies; and the different roles they play in innovation. Today, … Continue reading Cities, companies, and innovation – An emerging narrative
Over the past few weeks, I've been pondering over the observations of Geoffrey West and his team. In their cross-disciplinary research on complex adaptive systems, they looked for common underlying principles that could be applicable to biological systems and social systems alike: What do animals and plants, companies and cities have in common? West's key findings In this quest for … Continue reading Cities, companies, and innovation – The crucial interplay
Geoffrey West started his scientific career as a theoretical physicist before he shifted his attention to complex adaptive systems. He focused on interdisciplinary research with a specific interest in the commonalities that social systems share with biological systems: Could it be that cities or companies actually follow the same underlying principles like plants or animals? Is London a great big whale? Is Walmart … Continue reading Cities, companies, and innovation – Why companies will die
A theoretical physicist and researcher of complex adaptive systems, Geoffrey West asked himself what social systems have in common with biological systems: Could it be that cities or companies actually follow the same underlying principles like plants or animals? Is London a great big whale? Is Walmart an elephant? In earlier work, he and his team had investigated the role … Continue reading Cities, companies, and innovation – Why cities keep growing
understanding innovation 