Bringing Technology and Innovation into the Boardroom pot

Bringing Technology and
Innovation into the
Boardroom
Strategy, Innovation and Competences for
Business Value
European Institute for Technology and
Innovation Management
Bringing Technology and Innovation into the Boardroom
This page intentionally left blank
Bringing Technology and
Innovation into the
Boardroom
Strategy, Innovation and Competences for
Business Value
European Institute for Technology and
Innovation Management
Selection and editorial matter © David Probert, Ove Granstrand, Arie Nagel,
Breffni Tomlin, Cornelius Herstatt, Hugo Tschirky, and Thomas Durand 2004
Foreword © Erkki Liikanen 2004
Individual chapters © contributors 2004
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90
Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified
as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright,

Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2003 by
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bringing technology and innovation into the boardroom: strategy, innovation,
and competences for business value / Thomas Durand [et al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–333–99459–0 (cloth)
1. Technological innovations – European Union countries – Management.
2. Strategic planning – European Union countries. 3. Industrial management –
European Union countries. 4. Organizational effectiveness. I. Durand, Thomas.
HD45.B685 2003
658.4´012—dc21 2003054754
10987654321
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03

Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Foreword ix
Introduction xi
Notes on the Contributors xvii
Part I Meeting the Challenge of Technology and Innovation
Executive Summary 3
David Probert
1 Wake-up Call for General Management: It’s Technology Time 7
Hugo Tschirky
2 Bringing Technology to the Boardroom: What Does It Mean? 19
Hugo Tschirky
3 The Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation 47
Thomas Durand
4 Structuring a Systematic Approach to Technology
Management: Processes and Framework 76
David Probert, Clare Farrukh and Robert Phaal
Part II Strategy: Using Technology and Innovation
Strategically
Executive Summary 95
Thomas Durand
5 Technology in Strategy and Planning 99
Robert Phaal, Clare Farrukh and David Probert
6 Strategic Options When Facing Technological Change:
Trigger or Shape, Stretch or Re-deploy? 124
Thomas Durand
7 Multi-Technology Management: The Economics and
Management of Technology Diversification 133

Ove Granstrand
v
vi Contents
Part III Competence: Building Up and Exploiting
Technology Assets
Executive Summary 167
Ove Granstrand and Arie Nagel
8 How to Evaluate Technology Performance: Tasks and
Structure of Technology Performance Control 171
Hans-Helmuth Jung and Hugo Tschirky
9 From R&D/Technology Management to IP/IC Management 190
Ove Granstrand
10 Technology Intelligence System: Benefits and Roles of
Top Management 220
Pascal Savioz and Hugo Tschirky
11 Technology Marketing: A New Core Competence of
Technology-Based Enterprises 237
Jean-Philippe Escher and Hugo Tschirky
12 Changing the Rules of the Game: Strategic Alliances, the New
Competitive Weapon 255
Geert Duysters, Arie Nagel and Ash Vasudevan
13 New Challenges for R&D Management 269
Jeff Butler
Part IV Innovation: Fostering and Managing
the Innovation Process
Executive Summary 295
Cornelius Herstatt
14 Promoting Innovation in Organizations Unable to Innovate 299
Thomas Durand
15 Innovation Process Models and Their Evolution 326

Cornelius Herstatt and Birgit Verworn
16 The ‘Fuzzy Front End’ of Innovation 347
Cornelius Herstatt and Birgit Verworn
Contents vii
17 Market Research for Radical Innovation 373
Cornelius Herstatt
18 Strategic Decision-Making About Technology-Based Projects:
Development and Use of a Risk Reference Framework 387
Johannes I.M. Halman, Jimme A. Keizer and Michael Song
Index 411
Acknowledgements
This bookhas beencreated bythe combinedefforts ofall EITIMmembers.
However, we shouldparticularly like to thank David Probert and Noordin
Shehabuddeen at the Centre for Technology Management in the Univer-
sity of Cambridge for coordinating this effort, editing the contributions
and bringing the vision to reality.
The editors, contributors and publishers acknowledge the followingfor
permission to reproduce copyright material: Revue Française de Gestion,
Cachan, France; Elsevier Ltd, Oxford, UK; Communication & Strategie,
Montpellier, France; John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, UK; Research
Studies Press, Baldock, UK.
Every effort has been made to contact all copyright-holders, but if any
have been inadvertently omitted the publishers will be pleased to make
the necessar y arrangement at the earliest opportunity.
viii
Foreword
Innovation and technology help shape a better world. They contribute
to serving the needs of citizens and consumers, creating jobs in the econ-
omy, while helping preserve the environment in line with a strategy of
sustainable development.

In this sense, technology and innovation are essential to the competi-
tiveness of European firms. Recently, however, Europe has lagged behind
other major world economies in the race to innovate – that is to both cre-
ate and exploit the opportunities that arise from technological progress,
scientific development and the flow of new ideas. This is not simply a
matter of R&D, nor is it just a matter of financial resources to be poured
into the European system of innovation. It is also a matter of awareness
in companies at top management level, adequate organization within
and between firms and other institutions, management practices and an
understanding of the right market opportunities.
This is a major challenge for all of us.
The European Commission has the role to promote initiatives which
contribute to facing this challenge. The aim of our policy is to reinforce
the actions of the Member States, leveraging the transnational dimen-
sion to bring a global scope to firms while helping them develop and
grow in their specific local contexts. We work at the three levels of aware-
ness raising, inter-organizational networking, and dissemination of good
management practices. More specifically, the initiatives of the Commis-
sion deal with the creation of networks involving the main actors of the
innovation system, support to incubators and start-up firms, transna-
tional learning anddissemination of goodpractices, support via financial
instruments to help fund innovative projects, and more generally the
overall promotion of a culture of innovation.
In this context, this book is a unique contribution from a group
of seven European professors working on technology and innovation
management in seven leading scientific and engineering universities in
Europe (Cambridge, Centrale Paris, Chalmers, Eindhoven, ETH Zurich,
Hambourg-Harburg and UC Dublin). They share the same interest in the
theme of innovation and technology management. They joined forces
and set up an academic network in their field of work.

This book comes as a call which they direct to all of us. They
express concerns about the adequacy of boardroom decision-making in
ix
x Foreword
addressing innovation-related issues. Their call comes at a time when the
role and activities of corporate governance are under serious scrutiny.
They rightly advocate bringing technology and innovation into the
boardroom. They claim that its absence is not unavoidable – the means
exist to provide the board with the necessary support. They explain and
discuss how.
In this sense, this book brings a unique contribution. This ‘wake-up
call’ is most welcome. As they put it: ‘it is technology and innovation
time’. I am glad to see a group of pan-European academics investing time
and energy in this important area, adopting a European perspective on
business, revisiting and complementing the contributions which have
traditionally come from North American business schools.
I encourage top-managers to review the various issues raised and the
recommendations formulated in this volume. They will benefit from the
four parts of the book: Part I setting the stage (‘Meeting the challenge of
technology and innovation’) while each of the subsequent three parts
raises a different set of issues around a key dimension (‘Strategy: using
technology, and innovation strategically’; ‘Competence: building up and
exploiting technology assets’; (and ‘Innovation: fostering and managing
the innovation process’). I also found it very useful to scan through the
set of questions which concludes each part. These help show how the
content of the book may be applied in a specific firm.
I am grateful to this group of professors for having taken the initiative
of making their thinking and ideas available. Their insight into the issues
of technology and innovation management is very useful and I hope they
will soon provide us with more ideas.

E
RKKI LIIKANEN
European Commissioner for Enterprise and Infor mation Society
Introduction
What is the challenge?
Have you heard about technology management? Maybe yes, but proba-
bly not very much. Does it matter? We believe it’s vital. Why? Technol-
ogy aspects are as essential to management in contemporary business as
economics. They should not need a special label, and might be assumed
to be given as equal attention as other business aspects. Unfortunately,
however, this is currently not the case. We even venture to say that more
often than not important technology aspects are neglected in general
management. For example, how many CEOs can say which technol-
ogy is vital to the future of their company? Managers are challenged
constantly on their economic performance, but who challenges their
technology management?
We believe this is a key role for the Board.
The European challenge
Europe is waking up to the challenge of technology. We see the EU com-
mitment to spend 3 per cent of GDP on R&D, but who is thinking about
how to spend? Who is thinking about the technologymanagement? Does
the Board have the means to manage this spend? Should a percentage of
the R&D be spent on improving technology management?
This is the area in which this book aims to make a contribution. It
brings together the latest practice, research findings and thinking, pre-
sented in a way that addresses top management requirements. The goal
is to secure the economic future of the firm, in the context of a sustain-
able industry and society. Using the ideas and methods in this book, the
Board can assess and improve its own ability to deal with the challenge
of technology and innovation.

The key issues in technology management and innovation
In raising these issues for top management attention, there are a number
of perspectives which need to be addressed, and which give structure
to this book. The overriding concern is one of economic return – how
can investments in the development and application of technology be
assessed?
xi
xii Introduction
The perspectives which contribute to this assessment are not only that
of the engineer or technologist. Success depends on a synthesis of views
from experts in marketing, finance, operations, and many other disci-
plines. The ideas and methods presented in this book provide the means
to do this, and will enable senior management to address these issues for
the economic benefit of both their company and the wider community.
How well does your business meet this challenge?
10 key questions the Board should ask itself
Yes No Don’t
know
1. Are our senior managers convinced of the key
importance of technology and innovation in
creating value and improving economic
performance?
 
2. Do we have the mechanisms in place to enable these
issues to be tackled at board level?
 
3. Can we link our core technologies and competences
to market opportunities?
 
4. Do we know who owns our innovation process and

how it works?
 
5. Do we have processes and tools to support
technology strategy and planning throughout the
business?
 
6. Are we actively managing our technology portfolio?  
7. Are we exploiting the value of our technological
assets through a well formulated IP (intellectual
property) strategy that links to our business strategy?
 
8. Are we making best use of alliances to acquire new
technology?
 
9. Is our innovation process supported by appropriate
tools and adaptable to different market needs?
 
10. Have we established a ‘culture of innovation’?  
Structure and content of the book
The book is presented in four parts – each dealing with a particular set of
key issues. Taken together, the parts provide a comprehensive approach
Introduction xiii
Competence
Structure
(Part III)
Innovation
Process
(Part IV )
(Part I)
Strategy

Using technology and innovation strategically
Building and exploiting
technology assets
Fostering and managing
the innovation process
Meeting the
challenge of
technology
and innovation
(Part I)
Business
Value
Figure I.1 EITIM model – bringing technology and innovation into the
boardroom
to addressing technology management within the firm. As Figure I.1
shows, the chapters within each part are written by experts in particular
aspects of these issues, thus providing a range of perspectives. Each part
concludes with the 10 key diagnostic questions that the Board should
ask concerning the way these issues are dealt with in their business.
Part I Meeting the challenge of technology and innovation
Meeting challenges requires new ways of thinking to motivate action
and implement change. This part provides frameworks for new thinking,
plus the practical means to convert these ideas into action. Key links that
underpin market success and economic performance are identified.
The importance of recognizing the challenge presented by technology
and innovation at board level is explored in a European context. Com-
parisons are made with other parts of the world and the urgent need
for companies to address this challenge is explained. A variety of his-
torical, theoretical and practical perspectives on the issues is discussed
with recommendations for actions at all levels of the firm. The analysis

and understanding of technology itself is a fundamental requirement,
together with the ability to track the progress of technological change
over time. By incorporating technology management practices and pro-
cesses into the activities of the company, the board can ensure that
relevant information is available when decisions need to be made.
xiv Introduction
This may be taken further. The whole organization of the business
can be considered in terms of enabling the effective management of
technology and innovation.
Part II Strategy: using technology and innovation strategically
The role of technology and innovation in achieving sustainable busi-
ness success is of such significance that both should be considered as an
integral part of the business strategy.
Companies may adopt a variety of strategic approaches to dealing with
these issues, depending on the resources available and the competitive
context. However, in all cases structured ways of developing a business
strategy that includes a full consideration of technology and innovation
are required.
This part provides many examples of how a company can develop a
strategy that fits its own unique circumstances. A key challenge is to
balance the development of new technological capabilities (for example
through R&D), with leveraging those that already exist. Different strate-
gic postures are described which address this challenge, in the context
of current and emerging markets.
Part III Competence: building up and exploiting technology assets
This part focuses on technology itself – the core asset that is to be
exploited in a whole range of ways. In order to ensure a comprehen-
sive approach to exploitation, technology should be viewed from several
perspectives – for example, strategic, financial and commercial.
The commercial view considers technology as something that needs

to link to market opportunity in order to generate value for the firm.
However it also has value in its own right, and can be marketed and
traded to create additional value for the company. The financial view
is concerned with assigning value to technology, and the intellectual
property that it represents. This opens a whole new field of strategic
management dealing with the exploitation and protection of intellectual
property.
R&D management has traditionally been concerned with the choice of
R&D projects and the management of science and engineering resources,
but increasingly these horizons are widening to consider other means of
developing and acquiring technology. Strategic alliances, partnerships
and other forms of collaboration are now very important ways for firms
to access new technology. New business models are required to ensure
that the value generated is shared by the collaborating parties and that
intellectual property is adequately protected.
Introduction xv
Part IV Innovation: fostering and managing the innovation process
While technology is a key enabler of economic growth, it is the inno-
vation process that brings new developments to the market. Thus no
consideration of technology and innovation management would be
complete without a close look at how the innovation process works.
In this part the key importance of the innovation process is explored
from several perspectives. A particular difficulty experienced by many
mature organisations is a decline in innovative ability. Dealing with this
problem requires a full understanding of the competences of the com-
pany, and how they may have evolved to support operational efficiency
rather than innovation.
There are many models of the innovation process. These can provide a
better understanding of how the process works in a particular company,
and help to identify any weaknesses in the process. An area of special

interest is the ‘fuzzy front end’ – the stage in the process where ideas are
generated and from which creative new possibilities emerge. It is a real
challenge to support this valuable part of the innovation process with
tools and techniques to enhance creativity and at the same time make
sure the best ideas come through to realisation.
Other key aspects of a healthy innovation process are an ability to
assess and deal with risk, an awareness of the impact of cultural differ-
ences on innovation, and balancing radical and incremental innovation.
Even radical innovation, the most challenging innovation of all, can be
supported by the structure and techniques described here.
Taking action
We don’t know how your answers look, but we expect there will be areas
for action and follow-up. We believe that this book will help you focus
on the right actions.
The authors
The book has been produced by the European Institute for Technology
and Innovation Management (EITIM). This is a collaboration between
leading European universities, focused on technology and innovation
management from a science and engineering perspective. The principal
collaborators in this project are:
• Thomas Durand, Ecole Centrale Paris, France
• Ove Granstrand, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
• Cornelius Herstatt, Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, Germany
xvi Introduction
• Arie Nagel, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
• David Probert, Cambridge University, UK
• Breffni Tomlin, University College Dublin, Ireland
• Hugo Tschirky, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich
Notes on the Contributors
Volume editors

Thomas Durand is Professor of Business Strategy at Ecole Centrale
Paris where he heads the ‘Strategy and Technology’ research unit and
the ‘Technology and Management’ master program (www.ecp.fr). He
works in the field of strategic management and the management
of technology and innovation. He has published extensively in the
field over the last twenty years. Thomas Durand is President of CM
International, a management consulting firm based in Paris (www.cm-
intl.com). Past-president of AIMS (association internationale de manage-
ment stratégique), he is a board member of Euram (European Academy
of Management) and chairs the interest group ‘Knowledge and Innova-
tion’ at the SMS (Strategic Management Society).
Ove Granstrand was educated at Chalmers University of Technology,
University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Stanford University with grad-
uate degrees in mathematics, economics and engineering and a Ph.D.
degree in industrial management and economics. His work experience
includes teaching, research and consultancy in various eastern and west-
ern countries. He serves as Professor in Industrial Management and
Economics at Chalmers University and Chairman for Center for Intel-
lectual Property Studies. His research interest concerns economics and
management of technology and innovation. In particular, he has studied
innovation, corporate strategy and diversification in multi-technology
corporations in Europe, Japan and the USA, as well as various issues
related to R&D, intellectual property and intellectual capital more gen-
erally. He has authored and edited several books and articles on these
topics, a recent one being The Economics and Management of Intellectual
Property. Towards Intellectual Capitalism (Edward Elgar, 2000).
Cornelius Herstatt is Director of the Institute for Technology and Inno-
vation Management at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg,
Germany. He received his MBA and Ph.D. degree at the University of
Zurich, Switzerland. He has 7 years of industry experience and 7 years

experience in management consulting.
xvii
xviii Notes on the Contributors
Arie Nagel is a part-time associate professor of Strategy and Technol-
ogy Management and a management consultant. Published in Long
Range Planning, International Journal of Technology Management, a book
on Technology Management (1994, in Dutch), president of ISPIM
() 1993–1997. Participated in the EC-smart-project
on Strategic Alliances (), associate partner
of S3i (). Member of the International Advisory
Board of the Journal of Enterprising Culture, Singapore.
David Probert is Head of the Centre for Technology Management, and
a senior lecturer at the University of Cambridge. He had an industrial
career with Marks & Spencer, and Philips for 18 years before returning
to Cambridge in 1991. His experience covers a wide range of industrial
engineering and management disciplines in the UK and overseas. David
is author of a book Developing a Make or Buy Strategy for Manufacturing
Business, published by the Institute of Electrical Engineers, and is co-
author of Technology Management Assessment Procedure and Make-or-Buy:
A Practical Guide to Industrial Sourcing Decisions, published by the Institute
for Manufacturing.
Hugo Tschirky is chair of the Group of Technology and Innovation at
ETH-Center for Enterprise Science in Zürich, Switzerland. Former CEO
of Carl Zeiss Ltd. and Cerberus Ltd., Sabbaticals in Tokyo (1992) and MIT
Sloan School (2000).
Contributors
Jeff Butler is an editor of the R&D Management journal and a research
fellow in PREST. He is interested in ‘the future of R&D management’,
processes to promote design and creativity, action learning and ‘inno-
vation and sustainable development’. PREST is a department within the

Institute of Innovation Research at the University of Manchester and is a
member of the Manchester Federal School of Business and Management.
Geert Duysters is the Professor of Organization Science and Scien-
tific Director at ECIS (Eindhoven Centre for Innovation Studies). Geert
Duysters has published in leading academic journals such as Organiza-
tion Science, Journal of International Business Studies, Organization Studies,
Journal of Management Studies, Research Policy, R&D Management, Journal of
Small Business Economics as well as in many other international refereed
journals.
Notes on the Contributors xix
Jean-Philippe Escher is a research assistant at the ETH-Center for
Enterprise Sciences. He completed his masters degree in Mechanical Engi-
neering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ) in
1997. Before joining the actual science team, he worked for one year at
the Lightweight Structures and Ropeway Institute of the ETHZ.
Clare Farrukh is a senior researcher at the Institute for Manufacturing,
Cambridge University Engineering Department. Clare spent six years as
a process engineer before joining the University in 1995. Her research
activities are concerned with the development of practical tools for sup-
porting technology management in industry.
Johannes I. M. Halman is professor in the School of Business, Public
Administration and Technology at University of Twente and associate
professor at the Department of Technology Management at Eindhoven
University of Technology. His research interests are in the field of inno-
vation management with a primary focus on programme and project
management of innovation processes, new product platform devel-
opment and high tech start ups. He specializes in the area of risk
management.
Hans-Helmuth Jung worked as scientific collaborator at the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich). He wrote

his dissertation about ‘Technology Management Control Systems in
technology-based Enterprises’. During his thesis he consulted in several
multinational enterprises including ABB Ltd, BMW Group and Infineon
Technologies. He is now a consultant with SIMMA Management Con-
sultants, Switzerland.
Jimme A. Keizer is associate professor at the Department of Tech-
nology Management at Eindhoven University of Technology in The
Netherlands. His main research interest is in innovation management,
especially risk management. He publishes in books and journals on
various topics regarding determinants of innovation efforts, knowledge
constraints, risk management, learning organization and field casework.
Robert Phaal joined the Centre for Technology Management at the
Institute for Manufacturing in 1997, conducting applied research in the
area of strategic technology management. The focus of this work has
been on how to support companies to initiate technology roadmapping
xx Notes on the Contributors
processes, leading to the publication of a practical guide (T-plan). Rob
is also author of an on-line management tool catalogue (T-Cat), and co-
author of Technology Management Assessment Procedure, published by the
Institute of Electrical Engineers. He has a mechanical engineering back-
ground, with industrial experience in technical research, consulting and
software development.
Pascal Savioz has an engineering background and finished his Ph.D.
on Technology Intelligence in SMEs in 2002 at the ETH Center for Enter-
prise Science, Technology and Innovation Management, at ETH Zurich.
Today, Pascal Savioz works as Assistant Head of Technology of a world
leading curtain wall system manufacturer.
Michael Song holds the Michael L. and Myrna Darland Distinguished
Chair in Entrepreneurship in the Business School at University of Wash-
ington in Seattle. He is also advisory research professor at Eindhoven

University of Technology. His primary research interests include meth-
ods for assessment and valuation of new ventures and of R&D projects,
strategic management of technology and innovation, and models of
technology portfolio management.
Ash Vasudevan is the vice president of Strategic and Investment Ini-
tiatives of CommerceNet. In his role, he oversees all the collaborative
programmes – Next Generation Internet, Supply Chains and Global
Marketplaces – and venture investments, where he is principally focused
on making early stage investments in Internet technologies and the
business use of those technologies.
Birgit Verworn is a Ph.D. student at the Institute for Technology
and Innovation Management at the Technical University of Hamburg-
Harburg. She received an MSc in process engineering from the Technical
University of Hanover, Germany. She has two years of industry experi-
ence as a process engineer for Procter & Gamble.
Part I
Meeting the Challenge of
Technology and Innovation
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Executive Summary
David Probert
The four chapters in Part I introduce the concepts of technology and
innovation as meriting serious management attention. The trends in
both the accelerating development of technological progress, and in the
practical and academic treatment of the subject area, give witness to the
major impact it now has on business management. It is not an exaggera-
tion to assert that the successful economic performance of an enterprise
is now largely dependent on the quality of its technology and innovation
management.
However, the integration of these ideas into general management

thinking, particularly at boardroom level, has been much neglected. This
is due in part to an absence (or at least a lack of adoption) of suitable con-
ceptual frameworks, low management awareness and unfamiliarity with
the relevant practical tools and techniques. Part I goes a long way to
address this deficiency, by presenting complementary perspectives on
technology and innovation management, in the context of achieving a
good business result.
The introductory Chapter 1 ‘Wake-up Call for General Management:
It’s Technology Time’ identifies the increasingly important role of tech-
nological change in the development of industry and society. The
challenge this poses for Europe in particular, in contrast with superior
performance in the US and other parts of the world, is discussed in
the context of the need to integrate technological considerations into
top management thinking. The role and contribution of technology
management in bridging this gap is explained, together with the major
potential benefits for economic performance.
Chapter 2 ‘Bringing Technology to the Boardroom: What Does It
Mean?’ argues strongly for technology to be considered as a funda-
mental unit of analysis in management thinking, in the same way that
3
4 Part I – Executive Summary
money and time are units of analysis. The deficiency of many Western
companies in taking this view is clear; however, there are many possible
practical techniques that can be implemented to address this problem.
A model of general management is presented which provides a structure
on which to build these techniques.
Three levels of general management are proposed:
1. policy – which relates to policy, culture and structure, the setting of
the conditions under which the firms will carry out its business;
2. strategic – which relates to strategy formulation and implementation,

the middle- to long-term planning of how the firm will steer its course;
and
3. operational – which relates to project processes, structures and goals,
the means by which the firm executes its day-to-day business.
Example techniques are given which address each level of this model –
there is truly no lack of knowledge and experience available to support
firms who wish to tackle this important area in a proactive manner. The
practical tools proposed to assist the technology manager are some of the
most significant contributions that can be made in this field, and many
other examples are also given later in the book.
Chapter 3 ‘The Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation’
explores these ideas from a historic review of technology management,
and the need to manage the evolution and lifecycle of technologies.
The relevance of practical links to operations and project management
is demonstrated, including such recent organizational innovations as
JIT and TQM. The comparison between technology and competencies
is drawn, and frameworks and techniques to integrate these ideas into
strategic management are presented. A key analytical tool is the repre-
sentation of technology trees – a means of depicting how individual
technologies aggregate to address market needs. Ways of organizing
for innovation are considered, with the associated implications for
the cultural aspects of the firm. Finally, the need to look ahead and
identify the technology and competence that will be required in the
future is discussed, together will practical suggestions on how this can
be done.
Chapter 4 ‘Structuring a Systematic Approach to Technology Manage-
ment: Processes and Framework’ provides working definitions of the
concepts of technology and technology management, in a way that
they can be operationalized in a business. Five technology manage-
ment processes are presented which relate to the practical activities

of the firm, and the subject is explored in the context of the key