BPT 3113 – Management of Technology T e c h n o l o g i c a l BPT 3113 – Management of Technology

Chapter Outline Introduction Concept and Nature of Innovation Types of Innovation Sources of Innovation Models of Innovation Innovation Process Influencing Factors

Lesson Outcomes Explain the concept, components and characteristics of innovation Describe the models and sources of innovation Know the stages in the innovation process Identify the factors that contribute to successful innovation

Introduction Managing technology involves continuous effort in creating technology, developing novel products and services, and successfully marketing them It requires: Great creativity Investment in R&D Idea R & D Product Labs Marketplace

Concept and Nature of Innovation Invention is an idea for a novel product or process Innovation is the introduction of new products, processes or services into the market place Technological innovation begins with invention – a sub-set of innovation The process of technological innovation is a complex set of activities that transforms ideas and scientific knowledge into physical reality and real-world applications - converts knowledge into useful products and services that have socioeconomic impact.

Concept and Nature of Innovation Characteristics of organizational innovation are as follows: An innovation must be... A tangible product, process or procedure within an organization New to the social setting within which it is introduced Intentional rather than accidental A challenging change Aimed at predicting benefit to the organization Public in its effects

Components of Innovation Physical, Material or Hardware Computer Machinery Functional or Process Mechanism Software Process Reengineering Knowledge Component Manual Operating instruction

Types of Innovation Competence Enhancing vs. Destroying Innovation Architectural Innovation vs. Component Innovation Technical vs. Social Innovation Radical vs. Incremental Product and Process Innovation

Types of Innovation Competence Enhancing vs. Competence Destroying Competence enhancing innovation builds on existing knowledge and skills Enhancing or destroying depends on whose perspective is being taken Destroying Enhancing

Types of Innovation Architectural Component Innovation that changes the overall design of a system / the way its components interact with each other Component Innovation to one or more components that does not significantly affect the overall configuration of the system

Types of Innovation Technical vs. Social Management, that is the ‘useful knowledge’ that enables man for the first time to render productive people of different skills and knowledge working together in an ‘organization’

Make small-step improvements to the original technology and design Types of Innovation Create an essentially different kind of product – require customers to radically change their past behavior Make small-step improvements to the original technology and design

Types of Innovation Product Innovations Process Innovations Improvements in existing products or creating entirely new products Process Innovations Involve changes in existing process or adopting a entirely new process

Socio-Cultural Environment Technological Environment Sources of Innovation Economic Environment Socio-Cultural Environment Changes in Demographics Changes in Perception Innovative Users Technological Environment New knowledge Convergence Publications Outside industries

Models of Innovation Fundamental components of the model are the same but the nature of the business may dictate variations in implementation techniques.

Models of Innovation Martin (1994) illustrate the technological innovation process as a chain equation Reveals the important role of entrepreneurship in connecting ideas to the marketplace The management role in the innovation chain emphasizes: The need for stability and control at a certain phase of the innovation process A formalized managerial structure tends to produce incremental and process innovations more than radical innovations

Models of Innovation Science : How things are. Mills (1996) provided very simplified but interesting definitions for several components of the process of technological innovation known as minimalist definitions. Science : How things are. Technology : How to do things. Management : How to get things done. Technology management : Doing things. Entrepreneurship : Doing things to make money Innovation : Doing entrepreneurship

8 Stages of Technological Innovation Innovation Process 8 Stages of Technological Innovation

8 Stages of Technological Innovation Basic Research Increase our general understanding of the laws of nature Generating knowledge over a long period of time May or may not result in specific application Applied Research Directed toward solving one or more of society’s problems (specific problems) Eg.: research conducted to develop a drug for treating a known disease Technology Development Human activity that converts knowledge and ideas into physical hardware, software or service - prototype Technology Implementation Set of activities associated with introducing a product into the marketplace – success commercial introduction

8 Stages of Technological Innovation Production / Manufacturing Set of activities associated with the widespread conversion of design concepts or ideas into products and services – production control, logistic Marketing Set of activities that ensures that consumers embrace the technology – promotion, distribution strategy Proliferation / Diffusion Strategy that ensure the widespread use of the technology and its dominance in the marketplace Depends on methods of exploiting the technology Technology enhancement Set of activities associated with maintaining a competitive edge for the technology - increases the life cycle of the technology

Critical Trajectories Impacting The Innovation Process Border crossings (national and sectorial) Increasing of science-technology articles with international co-authorship and also between academic and government Emergence of complex technologies Fit to and cause from diverse demands, perspectives, approaches and contexts Age of knowledge and distributed intelligence, KDI Network of knowledge – integration of knowledge from different sources and domains across space and time Learning and intelligent systems - exploring the human behavior in collaboration with machines Computing challenges - exploit the numeric barrier

Influencing Factors The presence of scientific knowledge – technological change is dependent on scientific discoveries The level of maturity of the underlying science – a wide base of knowledge enhances technological development The type of technology and the phase of its life cycle – innovation rate is high for emerging and growing technology The level of investment in technology – technological development is connected to the level of R&D funding The level of political commitment – the pace of innovation is sensitive to high level policy decisions The ability to borrow advances from related technologies – advances in communication technology are dependent on satellite components The diffusion rate and patterns - a technology that is widely diffused in the market may delay other technologies from entry

Influencing Factors Recognition to Technology Time to Market Multiple-site continuous R&D Improvements in Communication The Push for Education Changes in Institutional Interactions Changes in Organizational Structure

Summary Technological innovation is a sub-set of innovation Technological innovations may arise from sources within or outside the organization Innovation process has been viewed as a sequence of separable stages Two basic variations of innovation models are technology push and market pull