Centre for Technology Management

Strategic technology management

Overview

Investing in the right technologies over the lifecycle of products and businesses places great demands on management and decision processes. Our research in this area aims to help managers with insights into technology planning, understanding technology trends and breakthroughs, sourcing technologies and assessing their value to the business. Practical relevance emphasised through a focus on management processes and tools, underpinned by well-founded conceptual frameworks.

Recent and ongoing projects

• Roadmapping
  The roadmapping method has been an ongoing area of research activity, developing underpinning theory and frameworks, and practical workshop-based methods for the rapid initiation of roadmapping within firms and at the sector level.
• Industrial emergence
  This project has used mapping techniques to identify the patterns, enablers and barriers associated with the historical emergence of technology-intensive industries to develop a set of tools for supporting strategic planning.
• Make or buy
  Factors to consider when making technology (and other) sourcing decisions.
• Technology acquisition and protection
  Integrating critical factors associated with the acquisition of early stage technologies into a decision support tool.
• Technology intelligence
  The quality of a technology strategy is largely dependent on the quality of the knowledge and information available. A framework for technology intelligence has been developed, including practical guidance, and the role of intermediaries has been explored, particularly in the context of open innovation.
• Technology evaluation and marketing
  Understanding and communicating the potential value of a technology is a key challenge those concerned with managing R&D. A process guide has been developed to support the appraisal and marketing of technology in business.

PhD research in strategic technology management

• Early stage new product and service development in the healthcare industry
  This research focuses on the management of early stage new product development in the healthcare industry, exploring the context of healthcare service delivery, the shifting business model in the industry, and the increasing sophistication of the software embedded in medical equipment. (Man Hang Yip)
• Technology management: design and customisation of analytical tools
  The focus of this study is the link between the technological base of a firm, its technology strategy and corporate strategy as well as the interaction and influence of these elements during the strategy formulation process. The main academic interest lies in the supportive tools for these strategic planning processes, such as roadmapping and portfolio methods. (Clemens Chaskel)
• Technology acquisition through collaboration
  This research is exploring the conditions that enable successful technology acquisition through collaborative means when early stage technologies are involved, including consideration of the characteristics of the technology and perspectives of both technology provider and receiver firms. (Victor Ortiz)
• Risk handling in roadmapping
  This research seeks to improve the way in which risk is dealt with in roadmapping initiatives, focusing on business strategy and sector level foresight applications. (Imoh Ilevbare)
• Technology management tool configuration
  Numerous tools have been developed to assist technology managers in their tasks. Examples include: portfolio tools, technology roadmapping, scenario analysis, quality function deployment, and benchmark methods. Management tools can be powerful only if they are suited to the problem and context of application. Thus, customising tools requires a careful analysis of the problem and the environment of the firm. In my studies I am investigating how technology management tools can be configured to suit the individual context of the firm. The idea is to provide managers with a guideline that points out the important factors that should be taken into consideration before a tool is configured. (Jan-Niklas Keltsch)
• Dealing with the fuzzy front end
  The ways in which organisations capture and pursue valuable ideas is being explored, with a particular focus on the early ‘fuzzy front end’ phase of innovation. (Xiyang He)

Past PhD research in strategic technology management

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