Centre for Technology Management

Current project portfolio

[click here for an archive list of completed projects]

The Centre has a broad range of research topics covering many practical issues in technology management. The Centre's research approach is characterised by:

• Practical tool development
• Close collaboration with partner companies
• Multi-disciplinary approach
• Dissemination of research results to the user community

[link to current opportunities for PhD research]

Below is a list of current and recent research projects:

Acquiring New Technologies Through Technology Intelligence Networks

Knowledge of the technological options available to a firm represents a critical factor in enhancing the performance of the organisation and maintaining its competitive edge. This is particularly true with technology intensive firms where financial success is highly dependent on progressive investment in technology. This work will bring together the fundamental constituents/elements of a technology scanning process and their relationship, and illustrate them in the form of a framework and system for technology scanning.

BAE Service and Support Project

Traditionally, BAE Systems manufactured products and allowed the end users to determine how they should be maintained and upgraded, accepting many small contracts for repairs and upgrades. There is now an increasing trend towards 'availability based' contracts that seek to reduce the cost of supporting products by transferring the responsibility for maintenance to the equipment manufacturer. This has a number of implications for the design of both the product and the organisation responsible for providing the maintenance and upgrade. CTM is investigating how technology insertion and management can be used to increase the capability of the original products, to overcome problems with obsolescence over the 30+ year lifetime of a product, and to allow costs and risks to be reduced. This project will run from 2004 - 2011.

Building Innovative Capabilities: An Enquiry into the Dynamic Growth Process of University Spin-outs in China

This three-year research project aims to develop a conceptual framework in order to enquire into the dynamic growth process of University Spin-outs (hereafter referred to as USOs) in China, attempting to understand the capabilities configuration that are necessary for the dynamic growth. Based on the extant literature and empirical cases, this study attempts to address the question how do USOs in China build and configure the innovative capabilities to cope with the dynamic growth? The growth process of the USOs reflects the transition process from a research-focused entity to the market-oriented company, and the strategic shifts (throughout the growth process) create capability gaps for further development. To cope with the dynamic changes, a USO needs to build and reconfigure their innovative capabilities accordingly. In addition, this project presents a particular interest on the impact to the USOs' entrepreneurial innovation process by the integrative capabilities, in terms of knowledge integration, alliance, venture finance and venture governance. To date, studies that have investigated the dynamic development process of USOs in China and have recognized the heterogeneity of USOs in terms of capabilities that are required for rapid growth still remain sparse. Addressing this research gap will be of great interest to entrepreneurs, policy makers, and venture investors. This project will run from October 2006 - December 2009.

Capturing and Pursuing Valuable Ideas for Breakthrough Innovations

Project page and access to the report

Creating breakthrough innovation becomes a key strategy for many organisations in an increasingly competitive environment. An important precondition for the implementation of such substantial innovation is the identification of breakthrough ideas in the front end of the innovation process. At the time of financial turbulence and stringency, it may be even more difficult to justify funds for higher risk breakthrough opportunities and ideas, unless a specific budget has been ring-fenced. Despite the vast amount of resources and talents that organisations pour into the front end of the innovation funnel, few breakthrough innovations emerge at the other end. The pipelines often clog with inconsequential opportunities, ideas and projects while slowing the passage of potentially valuable ones. The managerial process for the front end of breakthrough innovations and the factors limiting its effectiveness remain poorly understood. In order to boost the innovation productivity, organisations need to be capable of not only generating a sustainable flow of ideas, but also managing sufficient disciplines to capture, filter, focus and pursue ideas. This research tries to answer the question: In which way do organisations achieve the balance between breakthrough idea generation and value creation? The outcome of this research will contribute to the Innovation and Productivity Grand Challenge, a research programme funded by the EPSRC and the ESRC in order to provide fresh insights into the innovation from knowledge (IfK) question, especially in the context of a shifting context for innovation in advanced economies. This project will run from October 2006 - December 2009.

Developing a framework for developing radical innovation in established firms

This PhD research sets out to develop a framework for managing the process of radical innovation in established companies. In the first year of this research, related literature was reviewed and case studies with established companies in various industrial sectors were conducted. A conceptual framework for managing radical innovation process was proposed.

In the second year, case studies have been continued, based on which a preliminary framework for managing the process of radical innovation is proposed. In this preliminary framework, the process is divided into multiple phases and for each phase, key activities criteria are established.

The preliminary framework is yet to be refined and validated with further research work in the third year of this research. This project will run from October 2007 - October 2010.

Emerging Industries Programme

The Cambridge Emerging Industries Programme addresses key research questions associated with supporting the rapid transition of emerging ideas and opportunities into products and services underpinning high-value industries of the future. The EIP brings together expertise from across the Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing and its partners. The Programme's initial focus will be on opportunities emerging from the UK science and engineering base. The aims of the Emerging Industries Programme are to:

1. Create knowledge and understanding of the value chain dynamics of emerging industries; as well as insight into the linkages between evolving value chain stages and associated market and business drivers.
2. Create methods and tools for the public and private sectors that will enhance value capture from emerging industries. This project will run from January 2008 - December 2010.

Technology-based emerging industries - mapping creation & transitions

As part of the IMRC Emerging Industries Programme, this project is using established roadmapping-based frameworks to undertake rapid scans of industrial emergence, initially based on published historical cases for a diverse set of industries. Learning from historical scans will be transferred to 'fast-start' workshop approaches for strategy and innovation applications. The roadmap structure provides a systematic and scaleable means for visually representing the complex dynamics of industrial emergence, at industry, organisation and innovation levels. The aims of the project are: to:

• Develop novel research instrument for scanning (mapping) past industry emergence.
• Generate case studies to understand the dynamics of industry technology-based emergence and to identify key enablers and barriers.
• Prototype strategic management scanning (mapping) tool to support navigation of future emergent industries.

This project will run from January 2008 - December 2010.

External Corporate Venture Capital Investments - A Framework for Capturing and Measuring Strategic Value

Johann's research in the field of external Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) investments, i.e. equity investments of large corporations in entrepreneurial ventures which originated outside the corporation. The research is motivated by the fact that external CVC plays an increasingly important role within the strategy of corporations. Driven by a general trend towards a more open approach to innovation, companies see particular value in external corporate venturing as a tool to gain, for example, access to complementary technologies and a general window on technology developments. The review of literature in the field of external corporate venturing clearly reveals that theoretical gaps exist in understanding mechanisms for capturing value and measurements of this value. To help close these gaps, the research addresses the underlying question “How do corporations and start-ups capture and measure strategic value through external CVC investments” by using embedded, multiple case studies. The research aims to map relevant operational linkages and channels between start-ups, CVC units and business units and to develop a framework for capturing and measuring strategic value. This project will run from January 2007 - February 2010.

How to create a marketplace: Exploring entrepreneurial strategies of platform-based internet start-ups

As a member of CTM's Technology and Enterprise Group (TEG), Thomas' research interest focuses on the start-up and growth process of intermediaries. His thesis is exploring entrepreneurial strategies of new platform businesses that try to match two or more distinct user groups. As part of his fieldwork, Thomas is currently a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University, where he is based at the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School. Thomas Bohné's doctoral research is supervised by Tim Minshall and advised by Elizabeth Garnsey. This project will run from October 2005 - February 2010.

Large mature firms: Building support for new Product proposals

Large companies often have difficulty with product innovation due to problems overcoming organisational resistance to new ideas and practices. This research explores how to build support and gain alignment within an organisation by understanding the perspective and requirements of important internal stakeholders. This provides the basis for an organisational engagement plan that addresses key innovation inhibitors by using appropriate management tactics. The majority of the research, which started in 2005, will take place within a large multinational manufacturing company and is scheduled to complete in 2010.This project will run from October 2005 - May 2010.

Managing tensions: The role of partnerships for start-ups in the e-reader industry

This project presents the work of a three-year process study exploring the management of tensions in strategic alliances. The e-book reader industry is used to research and develop a process theory. The aim is to gain a new perspective on asymmetric partnerships between small technology start-ups and large firms rendering the focus on tensions as an inherent element of partnerships. This project will run from October 2007 - January 2011.

Organisational transformations in Technology-based firms

The aim of this three-year study is to identify the challenges faced by technology-based firms undergoing organisational transformations, fundamental alterations to the nature of firms' operations. Organisational transformations such as those associated with acquisitions assume greater relevance in an increasingly globalised and unstable competitive and technological landscape. The particular focus lies on the biotechnology industry, with evidence from other sectors such as IT or EEE providing comparative insights. Vivian's PhD is under the supervision of Dr Elizabeth Garnsey. This project will run from October 2008 - October 2011.

Technology Management of Embedded Software Development and IP

Technology advances and growing consumer demands for electronic products have increased the number of products in which embedded software is an essential component. Satisfying the demand for these software components has raised a number of interesting challenges for managers. Not least amongst them is how to create software efficiently and exploit it effectively. This real world problem is the subject of study into issues encountered by companies when developing and deploying embedded software. This covers areas such as team dynamics, project management, decision making, intellectual property and valuation. In this work we propose a framework through which managers could explore their own particular situations. The framework is being developed through literature review and case work with an aim to offer practical guideline material. This project will run from October 2006 - August 2011.

Technology management tools: the link to business context

The PhD research project investigates how technology management tools can be configured to suit a certain business model. Managers of technology use tools to assist their task of identifying, selecting, acquiring, exploiting and protecting technology. Such tools are practical devices that are used at the operational level of the firm. These tools should be adjusted to the business model of the firm to enhance their appropriateness to the business context. This link is investigated by case study research. This project will run from October 2008 - September 2011.

Click here to go to a website with further information on this research

The Cambridge Integrated Knowledge Centre (CIKC): Advanced manufacturing technologies for photonics and electronics - exploiting molecular and macromolecular materials

The CIKC is an EPSRC funded collaborative project involving the Electrical Engineering Division of CUED (CAPE), the Cavendish Laboratory, the Judge Business School, the Institute for Manufacturing and industrial partners. The overall objective is to create a centre of excellence in the field of low temperature processing and fabrication of products via the use of new materials. Aspects of technological research, commercial research, business training and outreach are covered by the project, with the aim of establishing a successful new UK industry in this area. CTM contributions are in the area of developing a technology roadmap for the project(s), providing business training for the research and practitioner communities, and researching the commercialisation aspects that support the growth of new businesses. Within the IfM, this latter work also involves, the Centre for International Manufacturing (Yongjiang Shi) and the Centre for Economics and Policy (Finbarr Livesey).This project will run from January 2007 to December 2012.

Architecting the Commercialisation of Technology (ACET)

ACET is part of the Cambridge Integrated Knowledge Centre (CIKC) programme, which is a collaboration between several Departments within the University to support the exploitation of advanced technologies for molecular and macromolecular materials in photonics and electronics applications. The ACET project is using roadmapping methods to support programme alignment through the facilitation of workshops to explore exploitation opportunities and challenges for technology-based projects in CAPE (Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics) and Cavendish Laboratory. Highlighting the priority application opportunities and associated exploitation issues enables potential linkages to business research projects at the IfM and Judge Business School to be identified. This project will run from March 2007 - December 2011.

Developing Competencies to take Emerging Technologies to Market

Part 1 of the project (to September 2008) involved identifying the knowledge transfer and business training and development needs of those involved in taking emerging technologies to market and to propose how these training and development needs could be met for the CIKC, and for others who might benefit from them, by tailoring existing University of Cambridge programmes and proposing new ones.

The findings of this work identified 14 recommendations, several of which were chosen to be focused on for the period up to September 2009. These were the development of courses to fill significant gaps which include an SME Graduate Development Programme and an Intellectual Property Course, the ongoing development of the preliminary competency framework developed in Part 1 and the development of an industry user friendly way to access student projects.

Technology and Innovation Management (TIM)

The purpose of this project is:

• To develop CIKC researchers via their attendance at either the two week ISMM TIM Module or the 3 Day Executive TIM Course and undertaking of follow up projects as appropriate.
• To continue to evaluate, integrate and link current TIM offerings
• This project is funded by Cambridge Integrated Knowledge Centre (CIKC).

COIN - Cambridge Open Innovation Network

The Cambridge Open Innovation Network (COIN) project aims to assess the operational capabilities / skills required to implement an open innovation strategy. The project builds upon a community of practice established as part of a Unilever-funded research project at CTM. The CIKC aims to provide the business and technical expertise and infrastructure to support the commercialisation of research on molecular and macromolecular materials. The main outputs anticipated from the COIN project are:

1. A technique/tool for assessing the operational capabilities/skills required to implement successfully an open innovation strategy within an emerging industry underpinned by new technologies.
2. An extended community of practice of CIKC partner organisations plus other firms that share a need to operationalise an open innovation strategy.
3. Inputs to the development of training programmes to support the building of skills in the management of open innovation.

COIN is funded by the Cambridge Integrated Knowledge Centre (CIKC).

Archive list of completed projects