+
Exploitation
acquisition
selection
exploitation
TM
activities
protection
identification
learning
+
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 Understand
the complexity of exploitation
 Understand
the key features of exploitation
 Understand
the three sub process of
exploitation
 Understand
the role of commercialization
 Understand
the role of technology transfer
 Understand
the role of technology utilization
+
Definition of technology exploitation
 Concern
with achieving profit or other
benefits from technology.
 The
utilization of new technology to
improve the performance of product,
service, processes
+
The sub-process of exploitation
 Commercialization/
marketing
 Technology
transfer
 Technology
utilization
+
Commercialization
 Successful
transfer of an invention / idea to a
sellable product in markets.
 It
might be at the firm or national level.
+
How to organize
commercialization activities?
+
Types of commercialization
 In-house
commercialization
 production and distribution of technology
 Selling
technology
 idea, prototype
 patent (licensing)
 Joint
commercialization
 joint ventures, alliances..
+
Decision on commercialization:

Careful planning of the relationships among: a company’s
technologies, its markets, and its development activities.

Planning for the fullest market exploitation of all its
technologies to maximize the rate of return on its technology
investment.
+
External commercialization:
Why sell technologies?

ever increasing costs and risks of R&D

not fit into a company’s overall strategy

limited patents protection

competition fear

financial and other problems preventing market exploitation

lack of production facilities all the world markets for a given
technology

antitrust legislation
+ PREREQUISITES FOR THE MARKETING OF A
TECHNOLOGY

A strategy for a full portfolio of technologies.

Decisions on acquisition or divestment of individual
technologies.

Awareness of the value of developing technology.

Clear understanding of the sale of a technology
through license and the sale of products based on that
technology.

Recognition of difference between a technology buyer
and a technology seller.

Reliance on technology marketers.
+
Discuss:
When should a company
commercialize a product, and
when should it sell the idea?
+
Things to consider for executives
before selling:


Internal factors:

Competencies

Corporate resources
External factors:

Industry characteristics

Competitors

Suppliers

Customers

Technology life cycle
+
Profiting from Technological
Innovation

Why innovating firms often fail to obtain significant economic
returns from an innovation, while customers, imitators, and
other industry participants benefit?

EMI Computerized Axial Tomography scanner example

IBM PC example
+
Profiting from Innovation (Source: Teece, 1986)
Who wins from innovation?
the firm who is first to market,
 follower firms,
 firms that have related capabilities that the innovator
needs.

A model explaining who wins from innovation
suggests the following:
Regimes of appropriability
 Dominant design
 Complementary assets

+

When imitation is easy, markets don’t work well, and the profits
from innovation goes to the owners of certain complementary
assets NOT to innovator.

Solution for the innovating firm to establish a prior position in the
complementary assets.

Innovating firms without the requisite manufacturing and related
capacities may die.
+
Channel Strategy issues:

Contractual modes

Integration modes

Mixed Modes
+
Discuss:
Is marketing high tech
product different than any
other product’s marketing?
+
(2) Technology transfer

Technology transfer is the process by which technology,
knowledge, and information developed by a creator is
applied and utilised by an applier (Khalil, 2000).
+
Types of Technology Transfer
TT
from a company to a company
TT
from a non-profit organization to a
company
TT
from R&D to manufacturing
department
TT
from individual to department
International TT
+
Modes of TT
 over-the-wall
 receivers
as consultants (developers have main
responsibility)
 team
mode: receivers as co-developers
 apprenticeship
mode: receivers as developers
+
The major methods of external TT
 OEMs
 Turnkey
plants
 Licensing
 Acquisition
 Collaboration
R&D
+
What are the important factors
for success in technology
transfer?
Do success factors change with
the type of technology transfer?
+
Primary factors in TT

Technical understanding

Feasibility

Advanced development overlap

Growth potential

Existence of an advocate

Advanced technology activities in a development laboratory

External pressures

Joint programs
+
Barriers to transfers

Lack of awareness

Lack of funds

Lack of common interest

Conflict of interest

Lack of trust

Poor communications

Lack of resources

Lack of time

Technical problems
+
International Technology Transfer
forms

Reverse engineering

Pirating

Original equipment manufacture

Turnkey plants

Personnel transfer

Licensing

Acquisition
+
Issues in Technology Transfer

Integration

Utilization

Organizational issues

Deal & negotiations

Commercialization

Regulations

Learning (absorptive, receiver capacity)
+
(3) Utilization

Maintaining technologies

Adjusting/ customizing technologies

Improving technologies

Integrating technologies for synergies
+
What are the factors influencing the
utilization of technologies in a firm?
Is there a difference between service
and manufacturing firms?
+
Technology utilization

At the plant level

At the national level / multi-plants

At the international level
+
Success of technology utilization
depends on
 Characteristics
of the technology itself
 Factors
in external environment of the
organization
 Demand
 Supplier
 Factors
changes
and customer relations
within the organization
 Integration of technologies
 Linkage between hardware and
 Bottlenecks and capacity limits
 Continuous improvement
 Available competencies
software
+
Different technologies
 Specialized
needs of one line of products
today would often drive improvements in
other lines tomorrow.
 Knowledge
 Partial
must be integrated and applied.
investments/ installments.
 Different
standards.
 Integrate, discipline, and
standardize
manufacturing and process development.
+
Supplier and customer relationships
Manufacturers
Distribution
Centers
Warehouses
Customers
Supply
Inventory &
warehousing
costs
Production/
purchase
costs
Transportation
costs
Inventory &
warehousing
costs
Transportation
costs
+
Buyer-Supplier Relationships
Confrontation
Arm’s Length
Relationship
Acceptance of
Mutual Goals
Traditional Relationship
Confrontation
Suspicion
Outsourcing
Source: Melnyk and Denzler, 1996)
Full
Partnership
New Relationship
Cooperation
Trust
Outpartnering
+
Increasing new product concepts via
the lead user method

Faster and cheaper than the traditional methods

Lead users display 2 characteristics:

face needs that will be general in a marketplace

expect to benefit significantly by obtaining a solution to those
needs.
+
4 steps in a lead user study:

specifying the characteristics lead users will
have

identify a sample of lead users

bring the sample of lead users together with
company engineering and marketing personnel
to engage in group problem-solving sessions.
 test
whether concepts found valuable by lead
users also will be valued by the more typical
users in the target market.
IDENTIFIED PROCESS PATTERN
PRODUCT VARIETY AND VOLUME
SEVERAL
MANY
PRODUCTS PRODUCTS
HIGH VOL.
LOW VOL.
LOW
VOLUMEUNIQUE
NO FLOW
PROJECT
JUMBLED
FLOW
MIXED
WITH
DOM.
FLOWS
LINE
FLOW
CONT. OR
AUTOMATED
ONE PROD.
VERY
HIGH VOL.
process focus
JOB SHOP
intermediate
focus
BATCH
ASSEMBLY
LINE
product focus
Source: Hayes and Wheelwright, 1984
CONT.
PROCESS
+
Organizational needs:
 Technology
management
 Organization
techniques need to be
complementary to hardware technologies.
 JIT, cell
manufacturing, etc.
 MRP, production
planning, capacity
 Complementary
competencies
planning, layout
 Perceived
impact of technology
 Openness
of personnel
 Structure
(database, …)
+

Human resources management

Roles and responsibilities

Incentives and rewards

Organizational structure and chart should be revised according to
technologies

Training

Learning
+
Main success factors

Human resource development:

Recruitment

Evaluations and rewards

Trust-based relationships

Career patterns

Good communication channels
+
Some suggestions to technology
utilization
 Re-engineer
 Clarify
your value chain goals
 Conduct a technology readiness audit
 Measure the performance of technologies
 Develop a business case to improve utilization
 Establish a technology coordination unit
 Begin technology integration
 Find ways of diversifying the use of
technologies and take actions
 Educate and motivate