A DEMATEL-Based Framework for Identification of Causalities Among Internal and External Modes of Technology Acquisition

Abstract

Technology acquisition plays a key role in the management of technology in industrial organizations. While there are ample theoretical and empirical researches on firm technology acquisition which are focused on the study of its dependence on other components of organization, the literature pays less attention to explore and analyze the inter-relatedness found in the main body of technology acquisition itself. Internal and external technology acquisitions are among the main substitute modes which are embodied in the general body of firm's innovation and technology acquisition strategy. In this research, we deploy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) as a powerful structural modeling technique to identify and visualize the causalities between internal and external modes of technology acquisition by processing the collective knowledge and expertise of firms' managerial boards and senior technology experts. Then, an integrated structure could be introduced for the macro-level technology acquisition and in addition to the mathematical modeling of causalities between internal and external modes of technology acquisition, a decision support system could be presented.