A Force-based Model of Cultural Evolution with Application to Business Strategy

Abstract

Presented is a force-based alternative to the transmission-based model of cultural evolution. The premise is that the majority of cultural evolution is Darwinian selection that occurs in the mind. The selection is driven by internal and external stressors (forces) leading to creative tension. Transmission is viewed as a source of variation and stressors, not heredity. One barrier to a force-view of cultural evolution is that biological evolution has not served as a helpful exemplar. The forces in natural selection are traditionally misidentified (or ignored). Here the forces of natural selection are environmental stressors acting on individuals, not natural selection itself. With this understanding, I will present the cultural evolutionary analogs to the dimensions of biological evolution including phenotype, variation, heredity, driving forces, fitness, and generations. The impetus for this view of cultural evolution comes from the study of strategy and innovation developed in part during my 25 years at E.I. DuPont, the multinational chemical and materials company. In addition to my scientific role there, I held positions in business, venture management and strategic planning. I will show how the force-based model aligns with an adaptive view of strategy theory and practice. Understanding how stressors act on ideas, processes, and technologies is key to enabling innovation in all endeavors.