Technology Management Concepts

Basic Research
The objective of basic research is to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundation of phenomena and observable facts without any application in mind. It is usually undertaken by academic institutions and its output (e.g. discoveries, new understanding, findings, theories) are published in scientific journals. In short, a document output of basic research is a scientific paper or publication.

Invention
Invention is the creative process of manipulating nature in logical ways to accomplish a human purpose. In other words, it is the process of coming up / conceiving new technologies. A typical document output of invention is the invention log.

Technology Incubation
The objective of technology incubation is to reduce a new technology to practice which implies the making, improving, testing & marketing of prototypes or demonstrations to establish both technical and commercial feasibility. A typical document output of technology incubation is a business plan.

Vertical Technology Transfer
The objective of vertical technology transfer is to transfer / convey / transplant an embryonic technology from the inventor (e.g. individual, institutional or even a department within the same group / organization such as R&D) to an organization that can either commercialize it (as a new product or process) or make it a publicly available for the practical solution of a problem in society. A typical document output of vertical technology transfer is a license agreement.

Horizontal Technology Transfer
The objective of horizontal technology transfer is to transfer commercialized or operational technology from one organization to another in a different social-economic context. A typical document output of horizontal technology transfer is a contract or a licensing agreement.

Firm-level Value-Chain
Michael Porter's value-chain model of the firm provides a view of the firm in terms of its value activities, the relationships and interdependence of these value activities and how the contribute value to the firm's products and thus enabling the firm to make a profit (since value > cost i.e. there is a margin).

Technology Strategy & Value-Chain
The firm-level technology strategy is the systematic way by which a firm takes advantage of technology or technological resources to improve its value activities. The firm-level technology strategy permeates across the different value activities. It dictates what technologies to utilize in the firm's supporting activities (like H.R., procurement, etc.) and how to utilize these technologies in the firm's primary activities (like logistics, operations, sales, etc.) It includes decisions on technology selection, acquisition, development and protection.

Value-Chain, Product Innovation & Process Innovation
Changes in the value chain result in changes in the ways in which products are created and delivered i.e. changes in the firm's process (of creating and delivering the product). Certain changes that streamlines or improve the value chain (either by improving efficiency within a particular value activity or by improving efficiency in the links between value activities) are process innovations. For example, a firm that introduces online tracking of supplies, inventories and deliveries into its logistics and operations value activities has introduced a process innovation.

Value-Chain & Horizontal Technology Transfer
Changes in the firm's value chain activities can result to horizontal technology transfer. For instance, a firm that decides to outsource a primary activity like service or manufacturing or a part of a support activity like procurement to another organization may need to convey certain technologies to that organization. Similarly, the recipient organization may also need to convey certain technologies to the outsourcing organization in order to effectively accomplish the agreed upon tasks.

Technology Management & Technology Lifecycle (S-Curve)
A. The major task of technology management during the new invention period is technology development which includes research and establishing ways and means that will support and facilitate the creation of advances and breakthroughs. It also includes technology incubation, plus technology commercialization.

B. The major task of technology management during rapid growth but before establishing a dominant design is product innovation. That is, improving the product and the technology/design behind the product with the goal of establishing the dominant design. It also includes IP & Technology Protection.

C. The major task of technology management during rapid growth after establishing the dominant design is process innovation. That is, developing or acquiring technologies that will improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of developing / manufacturing the product.

D. The major task of technology management during the maturity period is still process innovation but more on streamlining business / value activities to further reduce cost and increase market share.

E. The major task technology management during aging period is to assess threats (from competing technologies) and seek opportunities to development new technologies to replace the aging technology. It includes environmental scanning, technology foresighting and new research to acquire new emerging technology.

Technology Transfer & Original Equipment Manufacturing
The described OEM arrangement is a horizontal technology transfer because it is a transfer of commercialized technology to another firm in a different socio-economic context. The transferor plays the active role since it drives the transfer by proving training to the other firm's personnel. It is not market-mediated since it is only a contract between two parties and does not involve or undergo public bidding. Furthermore, the market does not influence the technology transfer.

The advantages of an OEM arrangement for the transferor are cost-saving and potential penetration of a new market. The risks are technology or IP leakage and weaker control over quality.

OEM provides an opportunity to the transferee because it enables them to gain new knowledge, technology, experience and track-record.


Technology Audit
The objectives of technology audit are:
a. evaluate a firm's technological capacity
b. evaluate the strength and weaknesses of its technological assets and processes
c. evaluate a firm's position in technology relative to its competitors and the state-of-the-art
d. formulate an action plan based on the above

Technology Benchmarking
The objectives of technology benchmarking are:
a. identify benchmarks in the form of best practices and performance measures within the firm, industry, nation or the world (depending on the chosen scope)
b. identify and understand enablers i.e. means by which best practices or exceptional performance is attained

Technology Forecasting
The objectives of technology forecasting are:
a. anticipate the future state and evolution of a particular technology (whether a specific technical approach or a generic technology); this includes a clear description of the expected functional capability
b. define the timeframe of the forecasted evolution (or timeframe within which the forecast is to be realized)
c. come-up with the likelihood or probability of achieving / realizing the forecast

Technology Foresight
The objectives of technology foresight are:
a. systematically look into the longer-term future of science and technology and its impact on the economy, the environment and society as a whole
b. identify emerging generic technologies and strategic areas of research
c. develop strategies and policies to actively bring about or influence the realization of those technologies and the realization of the desired future as a whole

Technology Roadmapping
The objectives of technology roadmapping are:
a. identify future products, services and technology needs
b. identify critical requirements, timeframes, and technology "paths" for the above
c. develop a plan on how to meet those needs and develop those products and services using or starting from what the firm currently has (i.e. firm's resources)

Competitive Strategy, Competitive Advantage & Core Competencies
A company's competitive strategy defines how the company intends to compete in a particular business. It depends heavily on the company's capabilities, strengths and weaknesses and those of its competition. Therefore, to be able to implement its competitive strategy and maintain competitiveness (i.e. sustain its competitive advantage) is to develop a core competence i.e. a set of capabilities coordinated in a way that is difficult for competitors to imitate. In short, the goal of a firm's competitive strategy is to gain and sustain competitive advantage and this can be done by developing core competencies.

Technology Strategy & Competitive Advantage
Technology strategy supports competitive strategy in that it dictates one of the ways by which a firm can gain / create competitive advantage. Competitive advantage can be created by performing specific value chain activities better or differently through the use of technology. Selecting and acquiring (or developing) the technology is dictated by a firm's technology strategy.

Corporate Strategy vs Business Strategy
Corporate strategy defines the industries or businesses a corporation intends to be in and how the corporation attempts to create balance and synergy among them. For instance, the Ayala Group of Companies' presence and interests in telecoms, banking and real estate reflect its corporate strategy of diversification. On the other hand, business strategy defines how a firm intends to compete in a particular business. For instance, the Gokongwei Group of Companies decided to compete in the telecoms industry (particularly, mobile / cellular communications) through Sun Cellular (Digitel) using a low-cost business strategy.

Research & Development, Competitive Advantage
Despite the availability of cheaper and faster alternatives for technology acquisition, firms seeking to be globally competitive still invest huge sums of money in R&D because it provides (if successful) long-term competitive advantage that is not easily eroded. By developing technologies internally, firms not only produce technologies they own and control but also develop or build the firm's technological capacity, knowledge and skills embodied by its researchers, scientists and engineers. By having technologies they own and control and technological capacity, firms position themselves better to develop unique, hard-to-imitate products that the market needs / wants.

Reverse Engineering, First Movers & Late Entrants
Reverse engineering is the process of acquiring technology through examining, disassembling and subjecting a particular product and its components to tests and analyses with the aim of understanding how it works and how it is designed. Through reverse engineering, a firm can implement a fast follower strategy since it allows the firm to acquire the technology faster (as opposed to developing it independently) and enables the firm to modify and build on the technology such that the firm is able to develop a new and better product at a lower cost. With no complementary assets and faced with a weak appropriability regime, it is very risky for a firm to pursue a first mover strategy since it is going to be easy for competitors especially the market-leaders (or for late-entrants in general) to steal the market by introducing a similar but lower-cost product. Late entrants can afford to do this because they do not have the cost related to introducing the product. Furthermore, they can reverse engineer the first-mover's product and come-up with a better one, effectively leapfrogging the first mover.

Global Value Chain vs Global Production Network
A Global Value Chain (GVC) is a sequence of value-creating activities across firms and borders resulting to the production of goods and services (i.e. products). A Global Production Network (GPN) pertains to a flagship firm and its network of suppliers. In short, a GVC is associated to a specific product while a GPN is associated to a specific flagship firm. Furthermore, A GVC can utilize various GPNs.

Various modes of international technology transfers influence / dictate the nature of the relationship and interactions among the different activities (and the firms doing them) within a GVC and the nature of interactions and relationships among elements of a GPN.

National Innovation System: Narrow vs Broad Definition
The narrow definition of NIS is limited to the agents directly involved in the generation and use of innovation in a national economy. While the broad definition includes the components of the narrow NIS plus agents not directly involved in the generation and use of innovation but affects agents that are. Examples are financial institutions, manufacturing system and regulatory institutions.

National Innovation System: Actors vs Institutions
Players / actors in NIS are the nodes / components of the network or "web". They pertain to organizations, firms, universities, etc. Institutions in NIS pertain to the "rules of the game" i.e. the set of norms, habits, rules, laws and practices that govern or influence how the players interact or relate to each other.