A dominant design (e.g. (for a combustion engine, a plane, a PC, a laptop, a tablet ...) emerges in a given context, over a certain period of time. In other words, it is an empirical (historical) question, and thus cannot be calculated.
It can be observed by studying the emergence of different artefacts.
Thanks M Attila Havas I understand that dominant designs "emerge" and are dependent to many local conditions. So... do you consider there is no way to approximate its time of emergence? Much appreciated.
Yes, in my view it would be a mistake to try "calculating" ("predicting") the time needed for a dominant design to emerge. Context varies, technologies vary. There is no "pattern" - there cannot be one - across designs in terms of how much time is needed to become dominant.
One can only observe the emergence of a particular dominant design with hindsight.