A case against the trickle-down effect in technology ecosystems
Fig 1
Hierarchical technology ecosystem and trickle-down effect in technology evolution.
a, A typical technology ecosystem includes three layers, system layer, component layer, and fundamental layer. The grey arrows represent the trickle-down effect, while the white arrows denote the trickle-up effect in technology evolution. b, If trickle-down effect is significant in technology evolution, the improvement of system technology will drive and grow the performance of component and fundamental technologies.