Abstract
As innovative technology is being developed at an accelerated rate, the identification of technology opportunities is especially critical for both companies and governments. Among various approaches to search for opportunities, one of the most frequently used is to discover technology opportunity from patent data. In line with it, this paper aims to propose a hybrid approach based on morphological analysis (MA) and unified structured inventive thinking (USIT) for technology opportunity discovery (TOD) through patent analysis using text mining and Word2Vec clustering analysis to explore the intrinsic links of innovation elements. A basic morphology matrix is constructed according to patent information and then is extended using the innovation algorithms that are reorganized from USIT. Technology opportunities are analyzed at two layers to generate new technical ideas. To illustrate the research process and validate its utility, this paper selects the technology of coalbed methane (CBM) extraction as a use case. This hybrid approach contributes by suggesting a semi-autonomous and systematic procedure to perform MA for TOD. By integrating the innovation algorithms, this approach improves the procedure of value extension in MA.
Highlights
Technology opportunity discovery (TOD) has been emphasized as a core competitive factor for companies and governments, and dominating technology in advance can provide considerable competitive advantages [1,2]
As a remedy for subjective and expert-based morphology building, this research has proposed a hybrid approach for technology opportunity discovery (TOD) on the basis of morphological analysis (MA) and five innovation algorithms developed from unified structured inventive thinking (USIT) to extend the basic morphology matrix
While technology can be visual in morphological structure, classical MA is subject to the qualitative characteristic, contributing to the fuzziness of values building in each dimension, which decreases the efficiency of exploring new technological opportunities
Summary
Technology opportunity discovery (TOD) has been emphasized as a core competitive factor for companies and governments, and dominating technology in advance can provide considerable competitive advantages [1,2]. Many large companies are striving to perform technology forecasting activities to prioritize research and development (R&D) and gain the pre-emption of emerging markets’ lead position [5,6]. In both private and public spheres, many efforts have been made to discover technology opportunity. The use of patent analysis has been increasingly significant in recent years, and patents have been applied to identify technological opportunity [17] Since qualitative approaches such as the Delphi method and analytical hierarchy processes [18] have been employed in identifying technology opportunities, multiple quantitative approaches based on patent data have been developed as a way of minimizing the impact of experts. The development of TOD approaches proves that a supplementary expert’s discussion is required to select meaningful sections for the investigation of technology opportunities from the extracted data
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